Former All-American and U.S. National Team member Lizzy Stemke is in her third season in the Husker program. Prior to joining the Nebraska staff, Stemke spent two years at the University of North Carolina before joining the Husker program in February of 2007.

At Nebraska, Stemke trains the Husker setters and serves as co-recruiting coordinator. Her additional duties include serving as the team video coordinator and as a liaison for academics and community involvement. She also assists with summer camps and coaching clinics, as well as assisting in Nebraska Volleyball Academy clinics.

Over the last two seasons, Stemke has coached two All-American setters in Sydney Anderson and Rachel Holloway, who have combined to lead the Huskers to 61 wins and a pair of Big 12 titles. Last season, Anderson earned second-team AVCA All-America honors, ranking eighth nationally in assists at 11.60 per set, as the Huskers replaced four All-Americans from the previous season.

In Stemke’s first year, Nebraska finished second in the nation with 16.42 assists per set and third nationally with a .327 hitting percentage. Holloway finished her Nebraska career while ranking among the national leaders with 13.58 assists per set.

Stemke also played a major role in the recruitment of a pair of top-10 recruiting classes, including the 2009 class that was ranked second nationally by Prepvolleyball.com.

Before Nebraska
At North Carolina, Stemke served as setters’ coach, handled opponent scouting and video exchange, recruiting, team travel and community outreach. In her first season as an assistant at UNC, the Tar Heels won the ACC title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Stemke also has experience coaching both at the collegiate and club levels. She spent the 2003 season as a volunteer assistant at the University of Central Florida, as the Golden Knights won the Atlantic Sun Conference championship and reached the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history before finishing with a 23-7 record.

During her time in Florida, Stemke also co-founded the Team Orlando Volleyball Club and acted as its head recruiter and setter and defense clinic coordinator. She has also spent time working with the Wisconsin Power Volleyball Club, the All-American Volleyball Camps, Next Level Volleyball Camp and the Triangle Setting Academy.

Playing Experience
Stemke enjoyed a distinguished career at the University of Wisconsin from 1998 to 2001. A three-year starter at setter for the Badgers, she helped Wisconsin to a 112-23 record, a pair of Big Ten titles and an NCAA runner-up finish in 2000 to Nebraska. One of only three two-time AVCA All-Americans in school history, she ranked fourth nationally in assists as a senior in 2001, with 13.72 per game when she was named Big Ten Player of the Year. She was recruited to Wisconsin by current Nebraska Head Coach John Cook, whose last year as Badgers’ head coach was 1998.

Following her collegiate career, Stemke spent two years with the U.S. National Team. In 2002, she was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the World Championships. She also helped the U.S. team win a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan-American Games. Following her time with the national team, Stemke spent two seasons playing professionally. In 2003, she was named the MVP of the Puerto Rican League. She then spent one season playing in the Pro A League in France.

Stemke earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin in 2004. The former Lizzy Fitzgerald, she is married to Kevin Stemke.

Stemke comes from a family heavily involved in college athletics. Her father, Billy Fitzgerald, played baseball and basketball at Tulane from 1967 to 1969 and is in the school’s athletic hall of fame. Her older brother, Edmond, played basketball at Ole Miss (1992-94), while her older sister, Meg, played volleyball at Florida (1992-95) and was the head volleyball coach at Central Florida until 2007. Her youngest brother, Robert, played baseball at the University of Tennessee (2002-05).