Department: Volleyball Title: Head Coach Phone: 609-896-5239 Email: eahlquist@rider.edu Office Location: Maurer 207 Current Year: 9th Season at Rider (13th overall) Record/Seasons at Rider: 65-154 / 8 Overall Record/Years: 105-241 / 12

Emily Ahlquist, the 2004 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, returns for her ninth season as the head coach of the Rider women’s volleyball program. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ahlquist was named the head coach at Rider in August of 1999, and led Rider to a best-ever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference record in just her first season.

In the spring of 2006, the volleyball team compiled a 3.62 GPA, the highest semester GPA ever recorded at Rider, to earn the Game Plan/American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award. “This past year the team’s grades reflect that the student-athletes are students first,” said Ahlquist. “We strive to do our best in the classroom and in the gym, and we surpassed our classroom goals this year through hard work. I am very proud of what the student-athletes have done the past year, in and out of the classroom.” All 10 volleyball players compiled a GPA of 3.00 or better and four received MAAC All-Academic honors and conference honor roll recognition.

Ahlquist has led Rider to double-digit wins in four of the past six seasons and in 2004, led Rider to a best-ever third place finish in the MAAC regular season, qualifying for the four-team MAAC Championship playoffs.

Ahlquist came to Rider from Marist College, where she was the head volleyball coach and Assistant Academic Athletic Advisor from 1995 to 1998. Ahlquist led Marist to a best-ever fourth place post-season finish in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in the Fall of 1998.

Ahlquist is a 1994 graduate of the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in sociology. At Minnesota, Ahlquist compiled the fifth most career digs and sixth most career service aces, helping the Big 10 squad to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 1990 as a freshman, and to the Consolation Championships of the National Invitation Tournament as a senior captain in 1993. Ahlquist received her MA in human services administration from Rider in 2005.

Ahlquist and her husband, John, live in Bordentown, New Jersey with their sons, Ayden and Austin.