Built on Consistency
In her 20th season as a volleyball head coach, Trish Kucirek Siedlik’s ‘99 statistics are astounding: her career record is 664-221.
Most recently, Siedlik led the women’s volleyball team at Bellevue University to a second-place finish at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship — the first time the team made it to the title match in school history. Siedlik was also named the 2024 NAIA National Coach of the Year.
What does she attribute all this success to? Consistency.
And consistency in the small stuff, like showing up on time. Being prepared. Being kind.
“My hair color can change, but I try to stay consistent,” Siedlik says.
Siedlik played collegiate volleyball at CSM from 1995-1998. In 1997, she was named the MCAC Player of the Year and earned honorable mention All-American honors. During her time at CSM, she built strong relationships with teammates and classmates and appreciated that her professors cared about their students as individuals.
After graduating in 1999 with a degree in computer graphics, Siedlik spent a few years working in the corporate world and coaching high school volleyball. Then, she received a call from CSM’s former athletic director encouraging her to apply for the head volleyball coach position.
Although she did so, Siedlik initially wasn’t hired due to her age — at 24, she was too young to rent a van from Enterprise to drive the team to matches. (This was before CSM had its own school vehicle.)
Fate intervened, though, when the coach who was hired resigned shortly after the season started. Siedlik was offered the interim coach position for the rest of the year and led the team to an impressive 20-1 season.
Excited to coach the program she once played for, Siedlik embraced the opportunity to continue its winning tradition.
“I firmly believed in what the school could do for the student-athletes that I could recruit there,” she says.
Siedlik remained at CSM for three years. During her tenure, the Flames compiled a remarkable 124-21 record, including a conference record of 60-3. They won four MCAC regular-season and tournament titles, two Region IV titles, and made three NAIA National Tournament appearances, advancing to the Elite Eight in 2004.
Eventually, Siedlik felt it was time for something new. She accepted the head coaching position at Bellevue University, just across town. The transition wasn’t without its challenges, though. She wondered whether she would be as successful and if she would be welcomed into her new environment.
“It was a hard time trying to adjust, but I remember that time being very happy, and I was welcomed into a new group,” Siedlik says.
In her first year at Bellevue, Siedlik faced a memorable encounter: walking into the gym for a match against CSM, the team she had helped recruit. But any fears about not being embraced quickly disappeared.
“CSM has always been very welcoming,” she says.
For Siedlik, the best part of coaching isn’t necessarily the winning — though she’s done plenty of that — but the relationships she’s built, particularly with her players.
“It’s nice to be someone they can trust,” she says. “I’m a lot more patient and putting their best interests before my own or the program’s.”
No matter where her career takes her, Siedlik continues to build on the foundation she laid at CSM — one rooted in relationships, consistency, and a passion for helping student-athletes succeed both on and off the court.
