CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois volleyball head coach Chris Tamas announced the addition of Meredith Schamun (pronounced shah-MOON) as the programs new Associate Head Coach on Tuesday.
"We interviewed several great candidates and as the process went on, it was clear that Meredith's experience as an assistant and head coach will help Illinois volleyball tremendously as we transition into the new era of college athletics," Tamas said. "She has a vast recruiting background as well as a deep knowledge of X's and O's of our game. Her passion and drive for coaching and developing players will add our continued success here at Illinois."
"I want to thank Head Coach Chris Tamas and Senior Associate Director Breanna Shamaila for this incredible opportunity," Schamun said. "I'm honored to step into a program with a tradition of competitive success and a family atmosphere. From my first conversation with Coach Tamas, I knew Illinois volleyball aligned perfectly with my goals and passion for the game. I can't wait to hit the ground running with Chris, Jen, Eli, and the rest of the Illini FamILLy!"
Schamun joins the Fighting Illini following a four-year stint at Penn. Most recently, she guided the Quakers to a successful 13-10 campaign with an 7-7 Ivy League record in 2024. The season included the Quakers' first win over rival Princeton since 2015 and their first victory over Brown since 2019. Following the season, a pair of Schamun's players received honorable mention All-Ivy recognition.
Schamun came to Penn from Villanova, where she helped the Wildcats to a 39-23 record in two seasons as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Schamun assisted Villanova to a pair of Big East Tournament appearances and a combined 23-13 record in league play. In 2019, the Wildcats were 22-9 overall and 13-5 in the Big East. That year, she guided the Wildcat offense which finished second in the league in hitting percentage and trained Villanova's all-time assist leader.
Prior to arriving at Villanova, Schamun spent two seasons at Tulane as an assistant coach, helping the Green Wave to the highest RPI jump in the nation (157 spots) in 2016. Tulane had its first winning season in three years and finished fifth in the American Athletic Conference with Schamun on the sideline.
From 2014-15, Schamun was the director of volleyball operations at UCF, helping organize travel, scheduling and recruiting for the Knights, who won the conference title and reached the NCAA Championship field in 2014.
A highly decorated setter at Rice, Schamun was a four-year starter for the Owls. The Conference USA Setter of the Year in 2009, Schamun was a Conference USA Championship MVP, two-time All-C-USA First Team, AVCA All-Region and AVCA All-America honorable mention selection. She helped lead the Owls to a conference championship and two NCAA Championship berths, and finished her career as Rice's all-time leader in assists with 5,190.
Following her time with the Owls Schamun played professionally in Germany for a season.
Schamun graduated from Rice in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and policy studies for healthcare administration and earned a master's from UCF in sport and exercise science in 2015.
