Messiah University

The 2025 season marks Holly Motheral’s ninth season as the head coach of the Messiah women’s volleyball program.
 
 
COACHING INSIGHTS OVER THE YEARS

• One NCAA Tournament Appearance
  • First Round (2024)
• 2024 MAC Commonwealth Champions
• Two-time Conference Coach of the Year
  • 2016, 2021
• Coached two Conference Players of the Year
  • Amanda Dahlman (2019, 2021)
• Coached Three Conference Rookies of the Year
  • Mary Underman (2016), Mackenzie Feight (2021), Sarah Hart (2023), Makenzie Adams (2025)
• Coached One AVCA All-Region Rookie of the Year
  • Sarah Hart (2023)
• Coached six AVCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Honorees
• Coached four AVCA All-American Honorees

 
COACHING BIO

Motheral's was appointed to the head coaching position in March of 2016. She arrived to Messiah from Taylor University where she coached the Trojans for each of the three previous seasons.
 
"I'm very excited to continue my coaching career at Messiah," said Motheral when she arrived in Grantham. "I believe that God has opened this door for a new journey, and I'm thrilled to continue doing what I love—working with student-athletes—at Messiah."

"For this next step, I wouldn't go just anywhere," continued Motheral, speaking about her motivation to join the Falcons. "I wanted to go to another highly-respected Christian institution where I could integrate my faith into mentorship.
 
Motheral is a 2010 graduate of Houghton College (N.Y.) where she was a four-year competitor who excelled both on and off the court. A middle blocker, Motheral was a two-time All-American Mideast Conference player and three-time member of the Dean's List. In her final season she was named an NAIA Scholar-Athlete All-American.
 
After earning a Master's Degree in Education Leadership from the University of Rio Grande in 2012, Motheral worked as an assistant coach at Montreat College in North Carolina. She was there for just one season before being hired as the head coach at Taylor in the summer of 2013.
 
The appointment at Taylor was significant for Motheral considering the Trojans are one of the all-time winningest programs in NAIA history. She did well to carry the torch, as she led the team to a 19-12 record in 2013 with an appearance in the Crossroads League Semifinals.
 
In 2014 Motheral led the Trojans to an impressive 26-13 record, including a 13-5 mark in the conference. An upset of No. 3-ranked Wayland Baptist highlighted the season even as the team eventually dropped a thrilling five-set match in the Tournament Championship. In 2015, Motheral's final season with Taylor, the Trojans went 15-15 with an 11-7 mark in the conference.

Motheral currently resides in Dillsburg, Pa.


COACHING BY SEASON

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Season	Overall Record	Conference Record	Finish	NCAA Appearance
2016	26-8	7-1	Runner-Up
2017	14-17	5-3	Play-In Game
2018	15-16	5-3	Semifinals
2019	25-7	6-2	Semifinals
2020	---	---	No Postseason	---
2021	20-9	6-2	Semifinals
2022	19-10	5-3	Semifinals
2023	21-8	5-2	Semifinals
2024	24-8	7-0	Champions	First Round
Seasons: 8	164-83	46-16	One Championship	One Appearance

Last updated: 06/18/25