Eryn Leja was named associate head coach in June 2019 and is now in her third season with the HBU volleyball program.
Last year, the Huskies made their fifth-straight Southland Conference Tournament appearance, finishing the season with a 16-16 overall record and tied for fifth in the league with an 8-8 mark. Sophomore Mikayla Vivens earned first-team all-conference and all-tournament team honors, while senior middle blocker Kayla Davenport earned Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-American recognition.
In her first season, HBU went 21-10 and made its best showing in the Southland Conference by tying for third with an 11-5 mark in 2017. The Huskies kept their streak of Southland Conference Tournament appearances in tact at five in five seasons of Southland play, advancing to the semifinals. Senior outside hitters Jessica Wooten and Bailey Banks, who became the third and fourth members of HBU’s 1,000-kill, 1,000 dig club, respectively, earned All-Southland First Team honors and Academic All-Southland First Team honors. Senior middle blocker Blair Gillard earned second team all-conference honors and finished as the Southland’s all-time leader in block assists.
Leja spent seven seasons, including six as head coach, at Vanguard University, where she propelled the Lions to one of the top NAIA programs in the country. Vanguard made the NAIA National Tournament in five of her six seasons as head coach. She also guided the Lions to their first-ever Golden State Athletic Conference title in 2015, garnering Conference Coach of the Year honors. The 2015 squad achieved the highest national ranking (4th) in school history and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time.
 A native of Thermal, California, Leja played at La Quinta High School and went to UC Riverside, before playing her final two seasons at Chapman University in Orange, California, where she was an AVCA Second-Team Academic All-America selection. She graduated from Chapman in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in art and physical education. Leja then earned her Master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine in 2012.
Leja coached the 951 Elite Volleyball Club for seven years and her sister, Alex, is the head coach at NCAA Division III Alma College in Michigan.
