Air Force Academy

June 3, 2010

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - First-year Air Force volleyball head coach Matt McShane completed his inaugural coaching staff on Thursday, June 3, with the hiring of former USAFA All-American setter Louella Maxwell as an assistant coach. Maxwell joins the Falcons' program after stints as an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame (2003-06) and Washington University in St. Louis (2007-08).

Known throughout the Academy record books as Louella Lovely, Maxwell is one of five NCAA All-Americans in Air Force history. Despite playing just two seasons, she remains ranked among the Academy's top-10 lists in career assists (3,022) and digs (1,352), while holding program-best marks in career assists per game (10.87) and digs per game (4.93). In addition to holding the team's single-season record with 5.13 digs per game, Maxwell holds the single-match records in assists (83) and digs (45).

Prior to joining the Falcons' program, Maxwell spent two years as an assistant coach at Washington University in St. Louis (2007-08). During her two-year stint with the Bears, Washington University compiled a 65-12 record and won the 2007 NCAA Division III national championship title. The squad also advanced to the regional championship game in 2008.

Prior to her time in St. Louis, Maxwell spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame. During her tenure, the Irish accumulated a 92-34 overall record, three BIG EAST regular-season titles, a pair of conference-tournament championships and four trips to the NCAA Tournament.

The Irish were ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national polls throughout her four-year stint, peaking at a fifth-place mark in 2005. As coach for the Notre Dame setters, Maxwell led Ashley Tarutis to break the school record for assists in a season (1,573) as a sophomore. She also coached Kristin Kinder, who was the first-ever Irish setter to earn honorable mention All-America status by the AVCA.

Maxwell spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at the Air Force Academy, garnering AVCA all-region honors both years and AVCA All-America honors in 1994. She spent the 1995 season at Cal, before finishing out her collegiate career at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. As a member of the Mustang squad, Maxwell was named the Big West Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and received the NCAA Ethnic Minority Postgraduate Scholarship.

A native of Kingsport, Tenn., Maxwell graduated from Cal Poly SLO in 1997 with a degree in history. She completed her master's degree in education from Cal. Maxwell is married to Maj Mel Maxwell, a 1997 graduate of the Air Force Academy. They have a one-year-old daughter, Mikayla Leigh.