Coaching Experience
• Head Coach, Cornell University (2015-Present)
• Assistant Coach, Cornell University (2012-2014)
• Assistant Coach, Iowa State University (2009-12)
• Assistant Coach, Duke University (2005-08)
• Volunteer Assistant Coach, Wisconsin (2004)
• Assistant Coach, North Florida (2002-03)
Honors and Accomplishments
• Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year (2024)
• Ivy League Coach of the Year (2017)
Education
• B.S., Health Care Administration, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1999)
Playing Career
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1994-97)
• Helped lead Panthers to Midwestern Collegiate Conference Regular Season Championship (1997).
• Holds program record for most blocks in a three-set match with 17.
• Retired as Panthers all-time leader in career blocks (403).
At Cornell
Trudy Vande Berg was named to the Big Red coaching staff before the 2012 season and elevated to the position of the Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach of Volleyball in March 2015.
In her 10 seasons at the helm, Vande Berg has shaped the Big Red into a team that perennially finishes in the top tier of the Ivy League, including finishing third in the conference in three consecutive seasons from 2017-19 and again in 2024. Cornell's three straight third-place Ivy League finishes marked the best seasons for the Big Red since the team won three conference titles followed by a second-place finish from 2003-06. Cornell had a breakout season in 2019, culminating with its best overall record (17-6, 8-4 Ivy) since 2006. Cornell's 2006 squad won 18 matches and had an 11-match win streak over the middle portion of the season.
In 2024, the Big Red finished the season with an overall 14-10 record and 8-6 Ivy record, the best season since 2019 and earned their first trip to the Ivy League Tournament since the Ivy League introduced a four-team single elimination tournament in 2022. Cornell also earned Coaching Staff of the Year, Rookie of the Year honors for Mackenzie Parsons, two First Team All-Ivy nominations (Eliza Konvicka and Parsons) and an All-Ivy Honorable Mention for Doga Ozalp.
Vande Berg led the Big Red to a 12-11 (8-6) record in 2017 and helped the team improve to 13-10 (9-5) in 2018. Cornell's nine conference wins in 2018 were the most since the 2008 squad also snagged nine. The accomplishments of the 2017 season, which included Vande Berg being named the Ivy League Coach of the Year, came on the heels of a 2016 campaign in which the Big Red finished the year at 12-12 overall. The team posted six more victories than the previous year (6-18), marking the best single-season turnaround since the 2003 team went 21-4 following a 14-12 performance in 2002.
Vande Berg laid the groundwork for the team's turnaround in 2016 with her 2015 recruiting class, which was among the top 90 in the nation and earned a high honorable mention distinction from PrepVolleyball.com. One of the youngest teams in the country in 2015, Cornell was very competitive, losing 13 of its 41 sets by just two points.
Since taking over in 2015, Cornell has garnered an Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2024 (Mackenzie Parsons), 22 All-Ivy honors, including four first team selections (Kiley McPeek '18, Jullienne Bennett '21, Eliza Konvicka and Mackenzie Parsons). Additionally, Zoe Chamness '21 became the first Big Red player since Hilary Holland '08 to earn Google Cloud Academic All-District Volleyball First Team in 2018. In 2024, Mackenzie Parsons earned The American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region Honorable Mention for the North Region of Division I schools and Eliza Konvicka earned a spot on the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I Women's Volleyball All-ECAC First Team.
In her three seasons as an assistant, Vande Berg’s strong recruiting helped to establish a solid base on which her head coaching success has achieved. She was instrumental in securing setter Alyssa Phelps '17 and middle blocker Macy Wilson '17, who finished their careers as All-Ivy selections.
Prominent Cornell Pupils
• Lily Barber '20 – Second-team All-Ivy as a senior and honorable mention as a junior. Ninth player in Cornell history to amass 1,000 digs, finishing her career sixth all-time at Cornell in career digs (1,124). Only the second player in Big Red history to collect 1,000 digs and 300 assists for her career (Jen Strazza '92).
• Jillienne Bennett '22 – Three-time All-Ivy honoree including first team recognition as a sophomore. Her career hitting percentage of .261 is the 15th highest in Cornell volleyball history.
• Casey Justus '22 – Second-team All-Ivy as a senior and honorable mention as a junior. Her .332 hitting percentage in the 2022 season ranked sixth in the Ive League and eighth all-time at Cornell. Her career hitting percentage of .344 is the second best in Cornell history.
• Kit McCarty ’18 – Honorable mention All-Ivy as a junior and senior. Cornell's first two-time honoree since Natasha Rowland (2013, 2014). Finished her career ranked 11th in Cornell history for career kills (789); 14th in career points (882.5); 19th in career block assists (167).
• Kiley McPeek ’18 – First-team All-Ivy as a senior. Cornell's first first-team selection since Megan Mushovic in 2008. Led the Ivy League and ranked 33rd in the nation in digs per set (5.08). Finished the 2017 season ranked eighth in Cornell history for digs in a single season (447) and 10th overall for career digs (993).
• Alyssa Phelps ’17 – Second-team All-Ivy as a senior. Finished her career as just one of two Big Red players, and 20 in the history of the Ivy League, to reach 3,000 career assists. Additionally, she closed her career ranked 19th in Big Red history in both digs (718) and block assists (160).
• Jenna Phelps '20 – Second-team All-Ivy as a sophomore and junior. Finished her career ranked fourth in Cornell history in career hitting percentage (.311), fifth in block assists (266), 10th in total blocks (296), 14th in blocks per set (0.90), 17th in total points (824.0), and 19th in solo blocks (30).
• Jada Stackhouse '20 - Second-team All-Ivy and Academic All-Ivy as a senior. Finished the 2019 season ranked third in the Ivy League and 24th in the nation in hitting percentage (.389). The mark also ranks second in Cornell history for a single season. Closed out her Big Red career ranked eighth in the Cornell record books in block assists (249), 11th in total blocks (291), and 16th in solo blocks (42).
• Macey Wilson ’17 – Honorable mention All-Ivy as a senior. Finished her career with the third most block assists in Cornell history (309). She also ranked fifth in total blocks (359), fifth in hitting percentage (.286), 12th in solo blocks (50), and 15th in kills (629).
Prior to Cornell
Vande Berg worked at Iowa State University from 2009-12 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Cyclones after spending the previous four years in the same capacity at Duke. Her efforts at ISU helped lay the foundation for the Cyclones' NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2011 and ISU’s procurement of the fifth-ranked recruiting class in the country during her final season.
In her four years at Duke, Vande Berg helped the Blue Devils reach the NCAA tournament each year while capturing Atlantic Coast Conference titles in 2006 and 2008. Duke advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament all four seasons.
With the Blue Devils, Vande Berg oversaw the training of 11 All-ACC players, including two ACC Player of the Year recipients, and was responsible for recruiting the 26th-ranked class in the country in 2008.
Before landing at Duke, Vande Berg served as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin after spending two seasons as the first assistant at North Florida. While working with the Ospreys, she helped produce a Division II All-American and assisted in all aspects of the nationally ranked program.
Vande Berg has spent time on the club circuit, working with Team Florida High Performance, Sky High-Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee Chapter of Starlings, a volleyball club for underprivileged student-athletes. She also served as head coach of Team Iowa Ice of the Premier Volleyball League, winning the 2013 title in three sets over Team Florida Wave.
Playing Career
From 1994-97, Vande Berg played at UW-Milwaukee, leading the team in attack percentage all four years and set the school records for career blocks. She was a first team All-Horizon League selection as a senior after earning second team honors as a sophomore and junior. Vande Berg still ranks in the top-10 for career blocks (4th – 403), kills (9th – 1,148), and attack percentage (10th – .263) for the Panthers. She also holds UW-Milwaukee's school record for total blocks in a three-set match (16).
Personal
Vande Berg, a native of Waupun, Wisc., resides in Harford, N.Y. with her three rescue dogs, Dude, Dory, and Diana.
*Updated May 2025
