Bio

Sheila Gisbrecht enters her third season as Head Coach for Women's Volleyball at USJ in 2023 after being named the seventh coach in program history in 2021. In two years at the helm of the program, the Blue Jays have posted a 15-33 record overall. On the court, Gisbrecht has coached two All-GNAC student-athletes, while off the court, the Blue Jays have recieved the the USMC/AVCA Team Academic award in both years that Gisbrecht has been at the helm.

Prior to joining the Blue Jays, Gisbrecht spent the previous 13 seasons as the head men's and women's volleyball coach at fellow Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) member Elms College. While at Elms, Gisbrecht compiled an overall career record of 115-191 (.376) with the women's volleyball program, but turned the Blazers around with three winning seasons in her last three campaigns, going a combined 54-25 (.684) from 2017-2019. In 2017, she guided the Blazers to their first New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship in program history, and was named the 2017 NECC Coach of the Year. They finished the year unblemished in NECC play (7-0), went 19-10 overall, and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Gisbrecht and the Blazers followed up the 2017 championship run with one of the most successful seasons in program history in 2018, recording an overall record of 19-5 before being tripped up in five sets in the NECC semifinals. Then in 2019, the Blazers posted their third-straight 10-win season, finishing 16-10 overall with another trip to the NECC semifinal round. In addition to her recent success, Gisbrecht was also named the 2008 NECC Coach of the Year in her very first season at Elms.

Coach Gisbrecht directed the women's team to six NECC Postseason Tournament appearances and reached the NECC Championship match in 2008 and 2017. She has coached and developed one NECC Player of the Year, one Defensive Player of the Year, three Rookie's of the Year, and has had 27 players named All-Conference, including 11 All-NECC First Team selections.

In addition to her coaching excellence with the women's volleyball program at Elms, Gisbrecht also built a formidable program on the men's side and was named the NECC Coach of the Year four times (2009, 2012, 2018, 2019). She compiled a career record of 177-162 (.522) and helped guide the Blazers to three NECC Championships, capturing the title in 2009, 2012 and 2018. In 2019, Elms registered a program-best 28 wins on the year and were ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation by the AVCA, the highest ranking in program history. In 2018, the team also recorded a 20-win season and were nationally ranked for the first time en route to Gisbrecht's most recent NECC title.

Prior to Elms, Gisbrecht served as the assistant coach for Ohio Wesleyan University's (OWU) women's volleyball program for 11 seasons. During Gisbrecht's tenure, the Battling Bishops posted five 20-plus win seasons.

Prior to her coaching career, Gisbrecht was a two-sport standout at OWU, earning All-America honors in track & field and North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Player of the Year honors in volleyball. A three-time All-NCAC selection in volleyball, she capped her career by receiving NCAC Player of the Year honors her senior year. She led the NCAC in kills as a senior (3.39/game) and helped the volleyball team reach the finals of the NCAC tournament for the first time (1992), compile an 8-0 regular-season conference record for the first time (1993) and win its first-ever NCAC championship (1994). The Bishops went 88-49 during her four years.    

In track and field, Gisbrecht won four-straight NCAC conference championships in the shot put in both indoor and outdoor. A remarkable student-athlete, she placed in NCAC championships in eight different events (shot put, javelin, discus, long jump, 55 hurdles, triple jump, high jump and 100 hurdles), earning a total of 13 all-conference awards while helping the Battling Bishops to two conference titles and three runner-up finishes. During her senior year, she placed in the javelin and the discus to help OWU win the NCAC outdoor championship.  She claimed All-America honors in the shot put with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division III outdoor meet. As a junior, she claimed victory in the shot put with an NCAC-record throw, and placed in the long jump and 55 hurdles as OWU won the NCAC indoor title. Gisbrecht went on to finish 14th in the shot at the NCAA Division III meet. During her junior outdoor season year, she received her first All-America status with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Division III meet. 

Gisbrecht was elected to the Ohio Wesleyan University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. She earned her bachelor's degree with a teaching certification from Ohio Wesleyan and received her master's degree in exercise and sports studies at Smith College. In addition to her coaching duties, Gisbrecht is also an instructor in the newly formed undergraduate Exercise Science program.