Augustana welcomes back grad to coach volleyball

Augustana’s new volleyball coach isn’t new to the program at all. In fact, she played for Augustana just three years ago.

Erika Bute, a 2023 Augustana graduate and former Viking, was hired as head volleyball coach after Jennifer Jacobs resigned over the summer. Since then, the Vikings have had a strong preseason record and players say Bute’s ties to the program have been part of the reason why.

Bute graduated from Augustana with a bachelor of arts in marketing and then earned a graduate degree in business administration and a graduate degree in sports administration and leadership.

After graduation, she accepted a position as an assistant volleyball coach at Bemidji State. In her first year postgrad, she ended her season as the interim head coach. This experience made her a strong candidate when the head coach position opened at Augustana.

Bute believes that what she and her interim assistant coach, Ally Barth, bring to the table is their younger age. 

“What makes us different is our relatability to the game and that we were just in it not that long ago,” Bute said. 

She said that being a veteran coach brings its advantages, but being able to relate to her players has its own strength that shows on the court. Her playing years were recent enough that she played at Augustana with the current seniors on the team. 

Bute said it helped in her transition to have familiar faces on the team, and she believes it helped the players too since her arrival to campus happened just before the start of their season. 

“We were a little bit nervous just because there was such a short turnaround,” junior outside hitter Lucy Belisle said. “But seeing Erika come back, I think that we were all really excited because she's been a part of this program and had a lot of success personally.”

Belisle said there’s a lot of fire on the team compared to last year with the combination of a new coach and a strong class of freshman athletes.

“It just feels really good on and off the court,” Belisle said. 

The team won all but two preseason games, which junior rightside hitter Shelby Barwick believes has a lot to do with a newly implemented discipline standard. 

“We’re forced to be more disciplined,” Barwick said, “which I think is very, very good for our team.” 

Bute said she expects the team culture she’s building to show up in the wins, losses and improvements the team makes throughout the season. “I hope that we are not the same team that we are right now in a couple of months, and I don't think that we will be,” she said. 

Bute also said that the team is receptive to her feedback and ready to take the next step to a higher level of play. The team has been on the brink of making the postseason two years in a row, and Bute is ready to help get them there this year. 

“It’s been fun being able to lead them in those big moments and watch them take the next step,” she said. “The program meant so much to me as a player, so now getting an opportunity to lead it and make it my own is just really exciting, and I’m really grateful for it.”