Caitlin Peterson
Head Coach | Fourth Season
Entering her fourth season at the helm in 2025, Peterson has the third most wins in program history with an overall record of 55-34, including 38-17 in MIAA play, while coaching 12 players to All-MIAA selections and three AVCA All-Americans.
The Jennies finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 25-8, winning their 26th MIAA Regular Season title, along with the program’s fourth conference tournament title, as Peterson was named the 2023 MIAA Coach of the Year. After winning 10 matches against AVCA top-25 ranked teams, making the program’s 37th NCAA Tournament appearance, Central Missouri had three AVCA All-Americans in setter Olivia Olson, who was a Second Team selection, while redshirt senior Kersti Nix and middle blocker Elinor Engel received Honorable Mention nods.
In total, eight players were All-MIAA selections, highlighted by 2023 Player and Setter of the Year Olivia Olson, who was one of four First Team members alongside sophomore Rachel Ziesman, outside hitter Kersti Nix, and freshman Elinor Engel. Outside hitter Sydney Lierz and freshman Emma Siron were All-MIAA Second Team selections, plus, middle blocker Grace Southern and libero Grace Winkelmann received All-MIAA Honorable Mention accolades.
In her first season as head coach of the Jens, the team went 19-11 overall and 14-6 in the MIAA highlighted by four wins against top-25 ranked opponents. Peterson’s squad fielded seven players who were named All-MIAA members featuring two First Team selections in middle blocker Grace Southern and outside hitter Kersti Nix. Sophomore Tiffany Little and redshirt freshman Jenna Schulte were named Second Team selections while outside hitter Sydney Lierz, setter Chandler Vaughan and libero Grace Winkelman earned Honorable Mention nods.
Prior to being named head coach, Peterson served as the senior associate, associate, and assistant coach for the Jennies for nine seasons. She has been with the Central Missouri volleyball program for a combined 17 seasons as both a coach and a student-athlete.
During her tenure as a coach for UCM, the Jennies have captured five MIAA regular season titles, three MIAA postseason tournament championships and two NCAA Division II Regional crowns.
She has helped coach the Jennies' setters to All-MIAA honors eight times, including All-MIAA First Team and All-American setters Julia Bates (2013) and Ally Offerdahl (2021). In total, Central Missouri has had 18 All-Americans since Peterson joined the coaching staff and 28 with her as either a graduate assistant or full-time coach.
Prior to becoming a full-time assistant coach for the Jennies in 2013 under Flip Piontek, she spent the 2012 season as an assistant coach at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., where she worked under former Jennies Hall of Fame head coach Peggy Martin.
Inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019 and the MIAA Hall of Fame in 2020, Peterson led her teams to a 149-39 overall record playing for Martin from 2005-08 and Piontek in 2009. She was the starting setter for four years and a team captain for two, helping the team win 81 percent of its matches. The volleyball program's 2009 conference championship was the first since 2000, but the Jennies earned a bid to every NCAA postseason tournament during her career. Peterson recorded double-figure assists in more than 35 games in each of her four seasons and collected 47 career double-doubles. She also dished out at least 30 assists in 129 matches.
In 2009, Peterson finished a five-year career for the Jennies ranked No. 2 all-time in assists with 5,502, the seventh highest career mark in MIAA history at that time. She was named an AVCA All-American and First-Team All-MIAA that year after guiding the Jens to the NCAA South Central Regional as the No. 1 seed and host of the tournament.
Peterson is still second all-time at UCM in assists and is eighth in MIAA history.
The Buhler, Kan., native graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting from UCM in 2009, holding a 3.88 GPA. She earned her master's degree from Central Missouri in exercise science in the spring of 2012.
Peterson and her husband, Adam, reside in Warrensburg. They have three kids including son Jax, and daughters, Brecklyn and Maci.
