The
Mill Valley (Shawnee, Kan.) volleyball team brought home a 6A state title over the weekend with a group that includes four seniors, a collection of underclassmen and a 26-year-old head coach.
Kylie Corneliusen became the state's youngest coach to bring home a title in the state's highest classification Saturday and could be among the youngest to win titles in any sport across the country.
"I'm young, but I'm competitive and I expected my girls to work hard and do the little things," Corneliusen said. "It's a dream come true and it was honestly an unreal moment."
The coach, who graduated from
De Soto (Kan.) in 2016, has a MaxPreps player page from her time with the Wildcats where the 5-foot-4 Corneliusen prowled the back row as libero.
Her age and height have provided comedic moments during the season.
"This year I was doing a coin toss and had to explain that ‘yes, I am the coach,'" she said. "I get the ‘Let's see your driver's license' too. I'm used to it."
Mill Valley coach Kylie Corneliusen (right) poses with her Jaguars team after winning the Kansas 6A title over the weekend. Corneliusen is the youngest coach to win the Sunflower State's highest classification. (Photo courtesy of KSHSAA)
But Corneliusen, who said she grew up in a sports-centric household, is all business on the court as evidenced by the Jaguars 37-5 mark and run through a loaded 6A field to the title.
"I think people might have overlooked us because none of my girls are committed to Big Ten or Big 12 programs," she said.
Mill Valley's offense was paced by senior
Kaitlyn Burke, who logged 349 kills on the season. Freshman
Riley Riggs added 299 kills while juniors
Saida Jacobs and
Ashlyn Blazer combined for 424.
Sophomore setter
Ella Florez tallied 892 assists while libero
Corinne Schwindt posted 297 digs and 333 serve receives.
"The bar is set pretty high," she said.
Corneliusen, the former libero, said Burke and Florez were crucial to the team's success.
"I'm defensive-minded," the coach said. "I think I said 100,000 times this season we need to win the serve-pass game."
Competitive by nature, Corneliusen said she knew she wanted to teach from a young age (she teaches at Mill Valley's feeder middle school) and that coaching and teaching go hand-in-hand.
Ironically, her alma mater, De Soto, and Mill Valley are rivals, but she jumped at the opportunity to coach two years ago and get back to the area where she grew up.
"It just kind of worked out," she said.
Mill Valley coach Kylie Corneliusen from her playing days at De Soto. (Photos courtesy Kylie Corneliusen)
