Former Althoff coach will lead volleyball program at Eastern Illinois University
Two years after leading the Althoff Crusaders to the Class 3A state volleyball championship, Sara Thomas is a head coach once again.
An Althoff graduate who led the Crusaders from 2011 to ‘17, Thomas has been hired as the new head volleyball coach at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
EIU athletic director Tom Michael made the announcement Monday that Thomas, 33, would be the 13th head coach in EIU women’s volleyball history.
“I’m totally excited about this opportunity,’’ Thomas said in telephone interview. “It has always been a goal of mine to be a head coach at the NCAA Division I level and so, when the job came open at Eastern Illinois, I thought I would take a chance and go for it.
“With Eastern being close to the St. Louis area, Chicago and Indiana, it’s a chance to keep some of the top volleyball talent in this area. I officially start in January, but I’m not going to wait that long. There is a lot of work to be done.’’
Thomas takes over the Panthers program from Julie Allen whose contract was not renewed after the Panthers finished 3-26 this past season.
“We are excited to welcome Sara to Eastern Illinois and feel that she will be a tremendous fit for our volleyball program,” Michael said. “During the interview process it was apparent that she has great respect for the student-athlete experience and a vision for how that should be incorporated into the program.
“Sara brings with her a great track record of developing players both at the high school and college level that will benefit Panther volleyball.”
Thomas spent the past two years as an assistant coach at Missouri State University in Springfield where she played collegiate volleyball from 2004-07.
A 2004 graduate of Althoff, Thomas was a three-sport standout. Thomas then played four years at Missouri State, where she helped lead the Bears to three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Thomas was the Missouri Valley Conference defensive player of the Year in 2007 when she earned first team All-MVC honors.
Thomas capped her tenure at Althoff with 41-1 record and the IHSA Class 3A State title. In her seven seasons at Althoff, the Crusaders placed third in the state in 2016 (Class 2A) with additional deep runs into the state playoffs in 2011 and 2015.
In her time at Althoff, Thomas coached and developed 10 players that went on to play college volleyball, five all-state selections, three conference players of the year, numerous all-conference selections and twice was voted Coach of the Year.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 4:04 PM.
