Ohio Dominican University

YEAR: 6th in 2025-26
PREVIOUS COLLEGE: Coastal Carolina ‘98 and Florida State '00

AT OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY

• During the 2024 season, Coach Bambenek guided the Panthers to a notable performance in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Despite finishing with a 15–16 overall record and an 8–7 record in conference play, the team advanced to the G-MAC Tournament championship match for the second consecutive year.
  • Five players received conference Athlete of the Week recognition during the season.
  • Two players clinched all-tournament team spots.
• In her fourth season with the Panthers (2023), Bambenek helped lead the team to a 17-14 record, including an 11-8 mark in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), and guided them to a historic tournament run—their first since transitioning to Division II. The Panthers made G-MAC history as the lowest seed ever to reach the championship match, pushing seven-time G-MAC champions Hillsdale College to five sets for the first time in a title match.
  • One player earned G-MAC All-Conference honors, while four others received conference Athlete of the Week recognition during the season.
  • The program also earned academic recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for the 13th straight year.
• In her third season (2022), Coach Bambenek led the Panthers to a 12–18 record, including a 7–10 mark in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play.
  • One player earned G-MAC All-Conference honors.
• In the 2021 fall season, Bambenek led the Panthers to an overall record of 17-14 and a conference record of 9-7, making it all the way to the G-MAC Tournament semifinals.
  • Five players were recognized with G-MAC All-Conference honors along with one earning the G-MAC Elite 25 Award.
• In her first season (2021 spring), Bambenek guided the Black and Gold to their first winning season since 2015 and their first postseason match since 2014.
  • Bambenek earned Great Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in the shortened season along with three All-Conference performers.
  • ODU also received their first-ever top 25 rankings in the National American Volleyball Coaches Association poll and had back-to-back weeks in the AVCA National Poll, ranking 20th and 22nd, respectively.

• 11 G-MAC All-Conference award winners as well as the G-MAC Elite 25 award
• 18 Conference Player of the Week selections
• Great Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (2021 Spring)
• Ranked 20th and 22nd in AVCA National Poll (2021, Spring)
• AVCA Team Academic Award (2021 Spring, 2021 Fall, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• 27 Academic All-Conference Honors
• G-MAC Tournament Qualifiers (2021 Spring, 2021 Fall, 2023, 2024)

• Bambenek has 22 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience, coming to ODU after spending the past 11 seasons as the head coach for The University of North Carolina Wilmington.
• During her time with the Seahwaks, she posted a 165-161 overall record and ranks second on the program’s all-time wins list.
• In 2015, Bambenek led the program to its most wins in a season (24) since 1988, the most victories in conference play (12), the most all-conference performers (5), and the program's first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament championship and NCAA Division I National Tournament appearance.
• Since the start of the 2009 season, UNCW had five winning seasons, including three consecutive 20-plus win campaigns from 2013 through 2015.
• Overall, Bambenek coached 13 All-CAA performers at UNCW, as well as five all-rookie CAA award winners. She had two all-region honorees and the 2018-19 team posted a 3.8 grade-point average, marking the 11th straight year with a team GPA above 3.0.
• Off the court, the team accumulated over 200 community service hours annually.
  • Bambenek also played a vital role in fundraising $180,000 for locker room renovations and $5,000 annually through the Seahawk Starz middle school clinics.
• Bambenek was also UNCW's head beach volleyball coach from July 2015 through the 2019 season. In the program's first four seasons of play, Bambenek led the Seahawks to a 43-60 record.
• Prior to taking over the program at UNCW, Bambenek spent eight seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at George Washington University. There she played a key role in the development of the Colonials' program in the nation's capital.
  • During her time with GW, the team finished inside the top three in the CAA five times, including her final fall in 2008, where the Colonials won the CAA East regular season title.
• Bambenek's coaching career began at Florida State University, where she spent three seasons from 1998 through 2000. The Seminoles won the 1998 ACC Tournament championship to qualify for the NCAA National Tournament.
  • Florida State was 53-46 over her three years on campus, including a pair of 20-win seasons. She would also earn her Masters of Science, Sport Administration degree from Florida State in 2000.
• Bambenek graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Business Management degree from Coastal Carolina in 1998, where she was a member of the volleyball program.
  • As a student-athlete for the Chanticleers, she ranked eighth in program history in kills, was a part of the 1,000-kill club, and the 1996 squad won the Big South Conference and appeared in the NCAA National Tournament.