Mount Royal names Rhonda Schmuland women’s volleyball head coach

Calgary, AB – Mount Royal University Cougars Athletics and Recreation has named Rhonda Schmuland its new head coach of the women’s volleyball program, announced by Director of Athletics and Recreation Karla Karch. Schmuland comes to MRU after spending two seasons as the head coach for the Briercrest College women’s volleyball team.

“Cougars Athletics and Recreation are very excited to welcome Rhonda to our department as our newest head coach,” Karch said. “After a very intense hiring process, we found the best person to step in and lead our women’s volleyball program. Rhonda brings knowledge, experience, and understanding of the game from both a varsity student-athlete and head coach perspective that our program will reap the benefits of for many years to come.”

Schmuland was a former volleyball player at Briercrest College where she was named to the ACAC Women’s All-Conference Team, as well at Trinity Western University where she was a team captain, Therese Quigley Award Winner, and Academic All-Canadian her whole tenure. She then went on to play professionally in France for the TFOC Volleyball Club.

Schmuland’s coaching is built through high standards and well-implemented systems. With a strong emphasis on team-centered personal discipline, she works with her athletes to pursue excellence on and off the court. In the 2023-24 season, she was named the ACAC Women’s Volleyball South Division Coach of the Year and was a bronze medalist at the ACAC Championships. Before Briercrest, she made her post-secondary coaching debut in 2015 as an assistant coach at Ambrose University, followed by taking a head coaching role at Olds College. She has also been involved with Team Alberta since 2016, coaching their U15, U17, and U18 teams, as well as the head coach of Team Saskatchewan Canada Summer Games Beach Team as of 2024.

“I am incredibly honored to be named the next head coach of the MRU women’s volleyball program. This program has a strong legacy of competitive tenacity, hard work, passion, and success built by former head coaches Sandra Lamb and Shane Smith. I am excited to have the opportunity to build on that legacy of national prominence for many years to come,” said Schmuland.

The 2024-25 season will mark the 13th for the Cougars competing in Canada West and U SPORTS.

“We look forward to Rhonda instilling and furthering the high-performance culture that the program has been known for,” added Karch.