June 17, 2009

www.siusalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois volleyball head coach Brenda Winkeler has announced that Julie Yankus has been elevated to associate head coach for volleyball. The promotion from assistant coach is in recognition of her outstanding work as a member of the volleyball staff.

Yankus recently completed her third season as an assistant coach with the Saluki volleyball program. She plays an integral part of the day-to-day operations of the program with a strong work ethic and a competitive edge to help take SIU to the next level.

"Julie has been an integral part of our recruiting process," Winkeler said. "She has worked diligently to help improve the Saluki program. Julie has a way in the gym with our athletes and drives them with her competitive spirit."

She is primarily responsible for assisting Winkeler as the team's recruiting coordinator and coaching the Saluki outside hitters. She coaches outside hitter Jennifer Berwanger who was named 2008 All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team and was a member of the 2007 MVC All-Freshman Team.

Prior to coming to SIU, Yankus spent two seasons as the top assistant coach at Georgia State where she received her Master's of Sport Administration degree. The Panthers went 25-36 with Yankus as assistant.

The Wisconsin native attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she played volleyball from 1998-2001 to become part of the winningest class in Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball history. While at UW-Milwaukee, she was a member of four NCAA Tournament teams out of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now the Horizon League. An MCC All-Academic Team Honoree in 1999 and 2001, Yankus earned a bachelor's in Business Administration with a focus in Finance and Human Resource Management in December of 2002.