Kirstine Jensen Position: Associate Head Coach Experience: Third Season Alma Mater: Ohio State, 1997

Kirstine Jensen is in her third season as the Wildcats' assistant coach. Jensen, who most recently held the position of associate head volleyball coach at Northern Illinois University, is responsible for the outside hitters and serves as the recruiting coordinator.

In Jensen's third season on the bench, Northwestern broke out to its best start in 14 years. The Wildcats rattled off five wins to begin the season, one shy of the previous best start which came in 1997. In addition, the 'Cats did not drop a set in their first 15 played, a feat that had not been duplicated since 1984. Northwestern posted wins over three top-25 opponents in 2011, including a monumental victory against No. 2 Nebraska at Welsh-Ryan Arena in the regular season finale.

During Northwestern's 20-win and NCAA Tournament Round of 32 season in 2010, Jensen guided a pair of NU newcomers to 300-kill campaigns. True freshman outside hitter Stephanie Holthus won an All-Big Ten Freshman Team nod after she finished third on the team with 332 kills while transfer graduate student Christina Kaelin added exactly 300 for the Wildcats' attack.

The majority of the Wildcat outside hitters experienced career-best seasons in 2009, thanks in part to Jensen's guidance. Ariel Baxterbeck especially had a breakout season, notching 228 kills with 53 blocks. Alexandra Ayers and Brittani Gray each recorded over 100 kills a piece on the season while also combining for 48 blocks up front for the 'Cats.

Outside of Northwestern, Jensen worked with the USA Volleyball High Performance A2 program in the summer of 2010.

A Sycamore, Ill., native, Jensen spent four years with the Huskies, the first three as an assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach before the 2008 season. Working mainly with the outside hitters and defensive personnel, NIU finished 18-14 this past season, including a 9-7 record in the Mid-American Conference, and advanced to the second round of the MAC tournament.

Prior to her time in DeKalb, Jensen spent three years as an assistant coach at Florida State from 2002-05, and also worked as an assistant coach at Ohio University from 2000-2002. She began her coaching career at Northern Illinois, serving as a volunteer assistant coach from 1997-2000 while working towards her master's degree in kinesiology and physical education.

A 1997 graduate of Ohio State University, Jensen was a four-time scholar-athlete for the Buckeyes, racking up 655 kills and helped lead Ohio State to the NCAA Final Four as a junior in 1995. Her career .260 hitting percentage also ranks in the top-20 of the Buckeye record books. Jensen graduated magna cum laude from OSU with a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing sciences.

Ticket Information

30th Wildcat Classic

The Team

NU Volleyball on Facebook

2011 Online Viewbook

Records Almanac 

Camp Info

Fan Zone

Contact The Coaches

Welsh-Ryan Arena

Recruiting Contact Info