Emily Siefken enters her fifth season as Illinois State’s Director of Volleyball Operations in 2021, after serving as a graduate assistant with the Redbirds’ men’s golf team in 2016.

Siefken’s primary duties with the volleyball program include team travel planning and execution, equipment, budgeting, and summer camps. She is also responsible for managing the team’s video, utilizing Data Volley, and serves as a liaison to several departments within ISU Athletics.

Siefken brings a variety of experiences in athletics to her current position. In her previous role with Illinois State’s men’s golf team, Siefken was responsible for the planning and execution of team travel, meals and lodging, while assisting with scheduling and social media promotion.

Siefken has also served an internship with Western Illinois’ marketing and external relations staff, where she helped promote athletics events through various channels, including social media. She has also interned with the Illinois High School Association, where she proposed and evaluated revenue-generating methods.

Siefken was a two-sport athlete at her alma mater of Monmouth College, starring for the school’s basketball and softball teams from 2012-16. Siefken earned Academic All-Midwest Conference honors in both sports, earned NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors as a member of the softball team, and was named to the dean’s list all four years. She also served as an assistant to the volleyball coach at Monmouth, helping with team operations during the offseason.

A native of Burlington, Iowa, Siefken earned a bachelor’s degree from Monmouth College in exercise science and business in 2016, before receiving her master's degree in sport management from Illinois State in 2018.