OTTAWA, Kan. – Ottawa University head men's and women's volleyball coach
Ashan Jordan has announced the hiring of
Julianna Yanez as an assistant coach for the Braves' men's and women's volleyball programs.
"We are very excited to add Julianna to our coaching staff," said Jordan. "Coach Yanez comes to our program with a great deal of knowledge and experience of the KCAC which will be beneficial to the building of our team culture and growth of the volleyball program."
Yanez comes to Ottawa after spending three seasons on the men's volleyball coaching staff at Kansas Wesleyan University. She joined the Coyotes as a graduate assistant in August 2022 before being promoted to assistant coach in August 2023. During her time at KWU, Yanez was involved in recruiting, student-athlete development, practice and match preparation, performance analysis, team travel, budgeting and fundraising.
Yanez helped the Kansas Wesleyan program reach several milestones, including its first winning season, first postseason victory and first home playoff match in program history. The Coyotes also produced a record number of GPAC All-Conference selections during her tenure, including the program's first All-GPAC honoree. The program improved its team GPA by 0.56 points and achieved a team GPA above 3.0 for the first time.
On the court, Yanez helped Kansas Wesleyan earn a top-15 national ranking in blocks while helping develop student-athletes who ranked among the top 10 nationally in digs, attacking percentage and kills per set. Her responsibilities included coaching during practices and matches, using video breakdown for instruction and preparation, assisting with practice planning for varsity and junior varsity teams and recruiting and evaluating prospective student-athletes.
Yanez also brings head coaching experience to Ottawa. She served as the head varsity volleyball coach at Southeast of Saline during the 2024 season. In that role, Yanez oversaw all aspects of the program, including team selection, practice scheduling and competition planning. She developed practices focused on player development and teamwork while mentoring student-athletes in leadership, academics and personal growth.
In addition to her coaching responsibilities at Kansas Wesleyan, Yanez worked as an admissions counselor from September 2022 through May 2023. She developed relationships with high schools and community organizations, worked with prospective students throughout the admissions process and assisted with campus recruiting events.
"I'm thrilled to join Ottawa University and the volleyball coaching staff," said Yanez. "Ottawa's commitment to its student-athletes makes this a fantastic place to coach, and I'm excited to support both the men's and women's teams as we build upon a strong tradition of excellence and pursue national success. I want to thank Ashan and the leadership at Ottawa for this incredible opportunity. The tradition and local support here are unmatched, and I'm looking forward to representing Braves Nation both on and off the court."
Yanez earned her Master of Business Administration in Sports Management from Kansas Wesleyan University in 2024. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with emphases in marketing and management and a minor in Spanish from McPherson College in 2020.
