Volleyball adds Riley Whitesides as Assistant Coach

MILWAUKEE – Riley Whitesides joins the Marquette University women’s volleyball staff as an assistant coach, first-year head coach Tom Mendoza has announced.

“I’ve known Riley for a long time and we could not be adding a better person to the program and mentor for our student-athletes.” Mendoza said. “She’s successful because of the work she puts in and the relationships she builds. I am excited to work with her and the impact she will have on Marquette Volleyball.”

She joins associate head coach Ethan Pheister and fellow assistant coach Stef Jankiewicz on the MU staff.

Whitesides played five seasons for Mendoza at the University of South Carolina and was a First Team All-Southeastern Conference and AVCA All-Region selection as a graduate student in the fall of 2024. The native of Greenville, South Carolina averaged 4.47 kills per set as a grad student to rank among the top-20 nationally while hitting .241.

Whitesides ended her indoor career fifth in program history in kills (1,452), second in service aces (100), ninth in digs (920) and fourth in points scored (1,645.0).

She also excelled academically at South Carolina, twice earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition and SEC academic honors. Whitesides graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in May 2024 and earned a Master of Business Administration this spring.

Most recently, Whitesides completed her third season playing beach volleyball in Columbia with an 18-13 record this spring after a 20-15 mark during 2024. Overall, she boasts a career 38-27 record in dual action on the sand.

Earlier this spring the Golden Eagles announced their non-conference schedule for the fall of 2025, featuring a match against Wisconsin at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday, Sept. 17 in addition to key matchups with WKU, Dayton, Florida and Minnesota at the Al McGuire Center. Marquette went 25-9 in the fall of 2024 and made its third NCAA Regional appearance before falling to the eventual NCAA Champion in the regional semifinals.

Keep up with the Marquette University women’s volleyball program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and ‘liking’ on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.