Kelly Bethke became the 11th head coach in the history of Augustana women’s volleyball in November of 2013. In eight seasons at the helm, she has guided the Vikings to a record of 164-128, including a 25-8 mark in 2016—the second highest win total in program history and most recently a 23-8 mark in 2023. Through the 2023 season, she is second in program history in wins and ranks third all-time in winning percentage (.562). Under Bethke's leadership, the program has boasted five Academic All-District and 19 All-Conference selections.
Bethke came to
Augustana with a wealth of volleyball experience. She spent the previous seven seasons as the assistant coach at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. While at Edgewood, she helped the Eagles win back-to-back championships in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in 2012 and 2013, as well as an NCAA Division III tournament berth in 2011. In 2013, Edgewood went 26-8 overall and won the
NACC regular season title before falling in the championship game of the conference tournament.
Bethke is a 1999 graduate of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a major in
kinesiology/physical education and she also attended Wisconsin-Stout. She has a Master’s of Education from the University of
Wisconsin-LaCrosse (2004) and she received her health education certification from UW-Stout in 2008. She also has an adaptive physical education license from Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1999) and while a student at UW-Stout she served as an athletic trainer.
A physical education and adaptive physical education teacher in the Monona Grove school district since 1999, Bethke was the head volleyball coach for the Silver Eagles until 2007. She compiled an overall record of 111-78 and led her team to the Badger Conference title in 2003.
She joined the staff at Edgewood in 2007 and during her time with the Eagles helped the program become a power in the
NACC. Bethke was a three sport athlete at
Mondovi (Wisconsin) High School and played on the women’s basketball team at UW-Stout during her undergraduate years. She also coached high school basketball in addition to her volleyball duties.
KELLY BETHKE’S RECORD AT AUGUSTANA
| YEAR |
W (ALL) |
L (ALL) |
PCT (ALL) |
W (CONF) |
L (CONF) |
PCT (CONF) |
| 2014 |
24 |
9 |
.727 |
3 |
4 |
.429 |
| 2015 |
17 |
14 |
.548 |
3 |
4 |
.429 |
| 2016 |
25 |
8 |
.756 |
4 |
4 |
.500 |
| 2017 |
14 |
15 |
.483 |
3 |
5 |
.375 |
| 2018 |
16 |
14 |
.533 |
4 |
4 |
.500 |
| 2019 |
13 |
19 |
.406 |
4 |
4 |
.500 |
| 2020 |
4 |
8 |
.333 |
2 |
5 |
.286 |
| 2021 |
11 |
21 |
.344 |
2 |
6 |
.250 |
| 2022 |
17 |
12 |
.586 |
4 |
4 |
.500 |
| 2023 |
23 |
8 |
.742 |
4 |
4 |
.500 |
| TOTAL |
164 |
128 |
.562 |
33 |
44 |
.429 |
