December 10, 2010 - Have a sit-down, in-depth conversation with Hillsdale College head volleyball coach Chris Gravel, and the listener is bound to hear, more than once, what a big role assistant coach Stephanie Gravel plays in the success of the program. Now, Stephanie will have a plaque of her own as proof.

Stephanie Gravel, who just completed her 15th season with the Chargers, was named the AVCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year Friday afternoon. The AVCA recognizes just two coaches with national-level awards each year, and Gravel earned one of them.

Stephanie joined her husband Chris to make up the Charger volleyball coaching staff starting in the fall of 1996. Together, they have won more than 300 matches since then, and have guided Hillsdale College to back-to-back GLIAC regular season and tournament championships. Chris Gravel has been named the GLIAC Coach of the Year four times, and in 2010, was named the AVCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year.

Stephanie carries many responsibilities for the program behind the scenes, including coordinating recruits and organizing the team's extensive travel plans for each season. She's also incorporated several different types of mental exercises and practices into the team's schedule all year long. That mental work, along with her expertise in recruiting, have been important components of Hillsdale's ascension into an elite team at the NCAA Division II level. The Chargers went 29-2 in 2010, and were ranked 12th in the end-of-season AVCA Division II Top 25 poll.

Stephanie played college volleyball first, at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, then transferred to Grand Valley State, where she was a team captain for the Lakers for one season. She and Chris have a nine-year-old daughter, Brooklynn.