Jill Wilson

Jill Lytle Wilson was named the head coach of the Virginia Tech volleyball program on Jan. 12, 2017, and begins her third year in Blacksburg.

In her second season as the head coach of the Hokies in 2018, Wilson led Tech to a four-win improvement, which was the most wins at Tech since 2015. Also, the Hokies owned a five-win improvement at home on Carilion Clinic Court to 8-5. She won three nonconference tournaments – Charlotte Invitational, Hokie Invitational sponsored by the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Christiansburg and Bobcat Invitational – bringing her total to five in two years, including a 15-8 record non-league action.

Tech started the season 8-0, marking its best start since 2009. It also defeated North Carolina 3-0 for the first time since 2011, snapping a nine-match losing streak, and marked the first sweep over the Tar Heels since 2006. Wilson picked up another win over in-state rival Virginia in the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529, improving to 3-1 in her career against the Cavaliers. The Hokies also swept Georgia Tech on the road, a team that finished 15-6 at home and was an AVCA Top-100 Team, marking Wilson’s first ACC sweep away from the friendly confines of Cassell Coliseum. 

Under Wilson’s guidance, right-side hitter Jaila Tolbert once again was named second-team All-ACC. Tolbert became the third player in school history to make the ACC all-conference team in consecutive years, as well as the 17^th in program history to rack up over 1,000 kills in a career. The Minnesota native also became the first-ever Tech volleyball player to be tabbed a Senior CLASS Award candidate and the second to make the U.S. Collegiate Women’s National Team – Detroit roster.

Statistically, the Hokies improved on the service line due to an aggressive style, finishing fifth in the ACC for service aces, tallying 141 to average 1.31 aces per set. One of the key reasons why there was improvement on the line was outside hitter Ester Talamazzi’s team-high 34 aces, including her match versus William & Mary when she recorded the second-most aces in school history with eight. Libero Carol Raffety cracked the record book, becoming the 18^th Hokie to register over 1,000 digs in a career. 

Her first year in 2017 set the foundation for the program, as Wilson guided Jaila Tolbert to second-team All-ACC after she owned the highest hitting percentage in the conference for non-middle blockers (.331). Tolbert, a right-side hitter, hit more than .300 in 20 matches and earned Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) all-state honors.
 
Wilson also was key in the development of Kaity Smith, who was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team, as well as the VaSID Freshman of the Year. Smith started the season breaking a school record, putting down 30 kills in her debut – a program first.
 
Picking up two wins over Virginia in her first season, Wilson contributed to a full point in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash. Wilson led Tech to two nonconference tournament titles her opening season, winning the Pepsi Panther Invitational and A-State Invitational. At the A-State Invitational, the Hokies took down Arkansas State and SMU, two teams that won 20-plus matches and earned a bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
 
Wilson joined the Hokies after an extremely successful run on the bench at LSU where, as the recruiting coordinator, she signed five top-30 recruiting classes according to PrepVolleyball.com. She also helped lead the Tigers to six NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2009 SEC Championship, as well as 25-win seasons in 2007, 2009 and 2010. The Tigers averaged over 20 wins per season during her time on the LSU staff.
 
“We are excited to welcome Jill and her husband, Jared, to Virginia Tech,” Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock said after the announcement of her hiring. “Jill served as an integral component of an LSU program that became a perennial NCAA tournament team during her tenure in the highly-competitive Southeastern Conference. We heard from some of the most respected coaches in the country about Jill’s many talents, and their sentiments were very consistent that the school that recruited her away from her alma mater was going to be fortunate to have Jill lead their volleyball program.”
 
Along with her reputation as a staunch recruiter, Wilson helped produce 15 All-SEC selections, four American Volleyball Coaches Association All-South Region First Team picks and an AVCA First Team All-American and SEC Player of the Year in middle blocker Brittnee Cooper.
 
No stranger to the ACC, Wilson was an assistant at North Carolina from 2002-04 before serving as the top assistant at Wake Forest in 2006. She coached two All-Americans, an ACC Player of the Year and helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2002 regular season ACC Championship and an NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. With the Demon Deacons, Wilson trained outside and right side hitters along with assisting in recruiting prospective student-athletes and organizing all team travel.
 
Wilson broke into coaching in 2001 as a graduate assistant coach at Tennessee-Martin. The Skyhawks finished the campaign with a 24-7 record and won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship.
 
A four-year starter at outside hitter at LSU from 1997-2000, Wilson ranked sixth in the SEC with 23 service aces during her senior campaign that also saw the Tigers appear in the 2000 SEC Tournament finals.
 
Wilson exemplified the Virginia Tech spirit of Ut Prosim while she was a student-athlete. She was the Tigers' representative on the women's at-large SEC Good Works Team in 1999-00 and she was named the LSU Student-Athlete Volunteer of the Year in 2000.
 
The Richmond, Texas, native graduated from LSU with a B.S. in business administration with concentration in pre-law. While at UT-Martin, Wilson pursued graduate studies in health and human performance.