Allie Matters was named the eighth head volleyball coach in Illinois State history on March 8, 2022. She enters her third year at the helm of the Redbird Volleyball program in 2024-2025.

Following her third season at the helm of the program in 2024, Matters has a 41-52 (26-28 MVC) record at Illinois State for a career 120-82 record as a head coach. With her team's win versus Bradley on Oct. 16, 2023, Matters recorded her 100th career win as a college head coach. 

The 2024 campaign held All-MVC postseason honors for four athletes as the Redbirds advanced to the MVC semifinals for the first time since 2021. 

Setter Mekaila Aupiu was named MVC Setter of the Year, becoming the third Redbird and first since 2020-21 to earn the accolade. Aupiu also received All-MVC First Team honors, marking her first time as an All-Conference First Team selection in her illustrious collegiate career. Aupiu finished the regular season ranked 1st in the NCAA with 1,289 assists and 46th in the NCAA with 10.07 assists per set. She is the first Redbird with 1,000+ assists in a season since 2019 when Stef Jankiewicz finished the year with 1,329.

Redbird freshman Khenedi Guest was named the MVC Freshman of the Year and collected a spot on the All-MVC Freshman Team after finishing 2024 with 261 kills (2.35 kills per set) and 94 blocks (0.85 blocks per set) in her debut season. Guest was a three-time MVC Freshman of the Week honoree and is the fifth Redbird in the last 20 seasons to earn the title of MVC Freshman of the Year.

Junior outside hitter Aida Shadewald earned her third MVC individual honor as she was named to the All-MVC First Team for the second straight season. Shadewald is the first Redbird to receive back-to-back First Team laurels since 2019 and 2020-21 (Stef Jankiewicz). She finished the regular season in the top-10 among MVC competition for kills, kills per set, service aces, service aces per set, and points.

Following the 2024 season, Aupiu and Shadewald were selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team while teammate Maggie McCrary landed a spot on the Scholar-Athlete Second Team. Aupiu and Shadewald would later be named CSC Academic All-District honorees prior to Aupiu officially becoming a CSC Academic All-America Third Team selection, making her the fourth Redbird in program history to be honored as an Academic All-American and first since 2018.

The 2023 season saw Aida Shadewald receive All-MVC First Team honors along with MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team recognition. Hannah Reichensperger (Honorable Mention) and Cassie Jordan (Honorable Mention) were also MVC Scholar-Athlete honorees in 2023.

Matters helped coach libero Mari Hinkle to three MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors as Hinkle became the 10th active MVC player with 1,000+ career digs in 2023. Sophmore Emily Weber became the 18th all-time Redbird to achieve 1,000 career assists under the direction of Matters in 2023.

Matters coached standout libero Kaity Weimerskirch to a career-high 4.86 digs/set in 2022 as Weimerskirch took in the program's first MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Sarah Kushner (First-Team) and Kendee Hilliard (Honorable Mention) were also MVC Scholar-Athlete honorees in 2022. Matters' five freshmen led the MVC with 722 freshmen kills as Aida Shadewald and Regan Haith earned All-MVC Freshman Team accolades.

Matters joined the Redbird volleyball program after four seasons as the head coach at Wright State University where she led the Raiders to two NCAA Tournament appearances, two Horizon League regular season titles and a Horizon League Tournament title.

In four seasons at the helm of the Raiders’ volleyball program, Matters compiled an impressive 79-30 overall record (.725) and a 48-15 record in conference play, leading WSU from the bottom of the Horizon League to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2020-21.

During the 2021 fall season, Matters led the Raiders to a 23-8 record that included an eight-match and 22-set win streak from October 3 – October 22 and upset wins over Michigan State and Dayton on the road. Four Wright State athletes earned post-season conference honors and libero Jenna Story earned AVCA Northeast Region Honorable Mention honors for the third-consecutive year under Matters’ direction. At the conclusion of the 2021 season, the Raiders led the NCAA in both digs (2,355) and digs per set (19.62).

In April 2021, following the 2020 season that was postponed to the spring of 2021, Matters was named the AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year. After receiving the award, Matters went on to lead Wright State to its first – and the Horizon League’s first – NCAA win, sweeping Samford in three sets in the opening round before falling to eventual national runner-up Texas in the second round.

The spring 2021 Raiders were undefeated in Horizon League play, going 14-0 during the regular season with 11 three-set matches and their lone loss coming in five sets to crosstown foe Dayton, another 2021 NCAA Championship qualifier.

In 2019, Matters led the Raiders to a 24-4 regular season record, winning 20 or more matches for just the seventh time in the program’s Division I era, on the way to their first Horizon League regular season championship in program history and an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship – the first at-large NCAA Tournament bid in the history of the athletics department. Matters was named the 2019 Horizon League Coach of the Year and later earned recognition on VolleyballMag.com’s Under 40 Coaching Hotshots list in January 2020.

Wright State finished a perfect 11-0 at home inside McLin Gymnasium in 2019 and had a 16-game winning streak from August 31-October 9, which was the longest streak in the NCAA during the run. In her first campaign in 2018, Matters led Wright State to a 15-14 overall record, its first .500 or better season since 2003, while finishing with seven Horizon League wins, the most for the program since 2008, as the Raiders qualified for the Horizon League Tournament for the first time in 10 years.

Prior to serving as the head coach at Wright State, Matters spent seven seasons as the top assistant at her alma mater, Seton Hall. While at Seton Hall, she helped coach the Pirates to their most successful season in program history in 2014, culminating with the program’s first ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. Matters and head coach Allison Yaeger were also named Big East Coaching Staff of the Year. Under Matters’ tutelage, libero protégés, Alyssa Warren and Tessa Fournier combined to be named Big East Libero of the Year five times.

A Buffalo, NY native, Matters played at Seton Hall from 2006-09, racking up numerous records and leading the Pirates to their first Big East Championship appearance in 15 years as a senior. A two-time All-Big East Second-Team selection, Matters recorded double-digit digs in the final 68 matches of her career with the Pirates - the nation’s longest active streak at the end of the 2009 season.

Prior to returning to Seton Hall as assistant coach, Matters was at Canisius for two seasons in the same role.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…

Bob Grant, Director of Athletics at Wright State

“Allie is a rising star in our business. What she’s been able to accomplish here in a short period of time has been nothing short of phenomenal. The fact she was able to achieve that success within our person (1st), student (2nd), athlete (3rd) culture makes it even more impressive. The Redbirds are getting a great coach.”

Joylynn Brown, Senior Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator at Wright State

“Allie’s dynamic personality and passion for volleyball bring energy to any space she is in. Witnessing the complete turnaround this program has had since she joined us has been amazing. Illinois state is in great hands with Coach Matters.”

Celia Powers, Former student-athlete under Matters

“There are a million things I could say about Allie Matters. Besides her success at Wright State which can be found in statistics, records and awards, Allie changed our lives when she became our Head Coach. Together, with her leadership, our team achieved things we had never thought possible, things we had only dreamed about. My teammates and I are so blessed she came at the time she did. She wasn’t just a coach to us. She was our leader, our number one fan, our advocate and a listening ear on any subject. She is smart, diligent, empowering, courageous, trusting. To say Illinois State is getting a good one is an understatement. They are extremely lucky to have her. I am so proud of her for stepping up and taking this position. I know she will achieve the same success she did at WSU, both on and off the court.”

Marie Zidek, Head Coach at DePaul

“Few coaches can get more out of their players than Allie can. It just doesn't matter who her teams are playing, what the ranking says, or who should win ... her teams are always willing to play just a little bit harder, a little bit smarter, and a little bit longer than a lot of teams. She was like this as a player, and she's been like this as a coach since the beginning. Her teams have benefitted from tremendous success because of it. She gets her players to out-perform the word 'should,' and this is probably one of the most important skills to have in coaching. Allie is a proven motivator, developer of talent, and leader.”

Allie Yaeger, Head Coach at Binghamton

“Illinois State is getting one of the best up and coming coaches in the women's division one game. With Allie's coaching skills, tremendous work ethic, and knowledge of the game I have no doubt that she will continue to carry on the championship tradition at ISU. She has proved her ability to recruit high quality student-athletes and with her relationship building skills, she continues to get the best out of those players. Allie will be a great mentor to her student-athletes both on and off the court. She has always had a significant impact on any program she has been a part of, and I know she will provide an excellent experience for her student athletes. I look forward to following ISU's future success.”

Craig Dyer, Associate Head Coach at Notre Dame

“Allie is one of the most talented young coaches in the country and I am thrilled that she has been hired at Illinois State. She understands the sport at a high level, is driven to win and is a strong female role model. She truly cares about her student-athletes as people and as players and I am confident that with her leadership, the Redbirds will have continued success in the Missouri Valley and beyond.”