Eastern athletic director Tom Michael announced the hiring of Julie Allen as the next volleyball coach Wednesday, replacing Sam Wolinski after she coached the Panthers for three seasons.

Allen spent the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Wichita State, helping the Shockers put together two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

Wichita State was 29-4 on the regular season with a perfect 20-0 record in the American Athletic Conference.

She spent six seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Texas El Paso. Her coaching career began in 2004, where she coached Chico State in all aspects of the program, as well as helping with the men’s club team.

Allen played her volleyball career at the University of Portland and finished her career ranked fifth all-time in assists.

In a press release from Eastern, Michael said the school is excited to welcome her and she presented a clear vision on how to rebuild the volleyball program.

The Panthers were knocked out of the OVC tournament in the second round in 2017, improving off a 5-26 overall record and 2-14 conference record in 2016. The Panthers were in the OVC tournament in 2016 under Wolinski’s direction.

Pending the return of next year’s team, Allen will take over a team led by future senior Taylor Smith, who led all NCAA Division I teams in triple doubles. Thirteen other players have eligibility to play for Eastern in 2018.

*Full story to follow in Friday’s Daily Eastern News

Sean Hastings can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]