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University of St. Francis (III.)

University of St. Francis (III.)
Cara Currier VB (1/21/26)

Women's Volleyball

Currier Announces Retirement After 24 Years Leading University of St. Francis Women’s Volleyball

Cara Currier, the University of St. Francis women's volleyball program's longest tenured head coach, announced her retirement from the sport as well as her assistant athletic director responsibilities effective at the end of the 2025-26 academic year on Wednesday.  Currier is the second-winningest head coach in program history behind Rich Luenemann.

After a one-year stint as an assistant coach in the program, Currier took over the head coaching reins in 2002 and put together an impressive 548-402 record over the next 24 seasons.

"Cara has been an excellent leader of women during her 25-year run with us," said Dave Laketa, director of athletics.  "That was evident when a number of alumni came back to a game earlier this year, which showed the kind of impact that she had on each of those individuals."

"She has also been a key piece to the success of our overall program on the administrative side with the work she has done in her role as assistant athletic director."

With Currier leading the way, seven athletes earned NAIA All-America honors, nine received NAIA Region VII accolades, 17 were named to the AVCA All-Region team and 78 netted all-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) recognition.  A total of 10 individuals were also named as either a player, setter, libero or freshman of the year by the league.  Academically, she has coached 69 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.

Currier guided her first team – the 2002 squad – to the program's eighth NAIA National Tournament appearance in school history.  That team earned the bid after capturing the CCAC Tournament title and went on to claim a first-round victory before concluding its season at 35-9 overall.

Thirteen 20-plus win seasons, three conference championships (2007, 2012, 2016) and two additional conference tournament titles (2012, 2016) followed over the next 14 years with the 2012 season ranking as the best of Currier's career from both a winning-percentage standpoint (.804) and for the most victories (37) in a single season.  That, along with sweeping that year's regular-season and conference tournament titles to advance to the NAIA National Tournament for the second time, led to Currier claiming her second CCAC Coach of the Year honor.  The first such recognition came in 2007 after leading the Saints to their first regular-season conference championship under her guidance.

In 2016, Currier was honored with her third CCAC Coach of the Year award after St. Francis again swept the CCAC regular-season and tournament crowns and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament.  That year's squad finished with a 32-13 overall record.

In her 24 years overseeing the program, Currier posted a better-than-.500 record in all but seven seasons and turned in no less than a .600 winning percentage in eleven of those campaigns.  In total, she directed the program to three CCAC regular-season championships, three league tournament titles, three NAIA national tournament appearances and notched fifteen 20-plus win seasons, three of which were campaigns of 30-plus victories.

A search for Currier's successor will begin immediately.
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