Since taking over as co-head coach in 2010, Hugh Hernesman has rebuilt the Lady Demons’ volleyball program from scratch alongside his wife and co-head coach Stephanie. In 2014, NSU reached new heights, claiming the squad's first Southland Conference title, winning the league tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament against No. 2 Texas.
To date, the Hernesman duo has notched an 80-78 record in five seasons including a 47-37 mark in Southland Conference play. Over the previous three season, the coaching tandem has tallied an even more impressive 37-15 mark in conference action.
The Hernesman's 2014 squad also posted its first victory against a ranked opponent, defeating No. 15 Missouri and ending the Tigers 35-game regular season win streak - at the time, the nation's longest. After being plagued by injury, NSU headed into the Southland Conference Tournament, hosted at NSU's Prather Coliseum for the first time, as the No. 4 seed. There, the Hernesman's Lady Demons embarked on their self-proclaimed "revenge tour," knocking off Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, each of whom beat NSU in the regular season twice. Saving their best for the finale, the Lady Demons swept Central Arkansas, a program that came back from 2-0 in the same setting a year prior, to claim the league title.
Taking its tenacious defense into the 2014 NCAA Tournament, the undermatched Lady Demons limited No. 2 Texas to an .088 hitting percentage in Set 1 before ultimately falling in three to the home team.
For their efforts, the Hernesmans were named Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
During 2012 and 2013, Hugh led Northwestern State to consecutive 20-win seasons. In their five seasons at the helm of NSU Volleyball, only two schools in all four of NCAA Division I volleyball have improved their RPI more than NSU- a 192 point difference from the season before Hernesman’s arrival.
In 2013, Hernesman’s squad posted the most overall wins (21), conference wins (15), highest conference finish (2nd) and highest RPI (98) in the program’s 32-year NCAA Division I history. The program advanced to its first Southland Conference Tournament final and fell just one game short of an NCAA Tournament berth.
Additionally, NSU placed two players on the First-Team All-Southland Conference Team (Keelie Arneson and Stacey DiFrancesco) and Ashley Elrod on the Second-Team. Other Southland awards went to Keelie Arneson- being named the Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year and Libero of the Year- and Ashley Elrod was named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year. The Louisiana Sports Writers Association named Keelie Arneson First-Team All-Louisiana, Stacey DiFrancesco and Ashley Elrod Second-Team All-Louisiana, and Caiti O’Connell Honorable Mention All-Louisiana. Keelie Arneson was also named the LSWA Libero of the Year. Stacey DiFrancesco was also named to the Southland Conference All-Time Honor Roll, which commemorated the conference’s all-time great players in conjunction with it’s 50th Anniversary.
In 2012, Hernesman’s squad won 20 total matches and captured 12 Southland Conference wins, good for a third-place SLC finish and set a school record of eight straight match wins. This was NSU’s first winning season since 1987. Stacey DiFrancesco and Keelie Arneson were named First-Team All-Southland Conference while Caiti O’Connell and Emily Sweet were named Honorable Mention. The Louisiana Sports Writers Association named Stacey DiFrancesco 1st Team All-Louisiana, Keelie Arneson and Emily Sweet Second-Team All-Louisiana, and Caiti O’Connell Honorable Mention All-Louisiana. Caiti O’Connell was also named the LSWA Freshman of the Year.
Hernesman’s success was recognized when the Louisiana Sports Writers Association named him and Stephanie Louisiana Coaches of the Year.
His 2011 recruiting class was regarded as the strongest in the conference and ushered in a new era of Lady Demon Volleyball. That 2011 season, NSU had the youngest starting lineup in the nation (6 freshmen and 1 junior) and still was able to improve its conference win total two matches from the year before and qualify for the Southland Conference Tournament for the 1st time since 2008. Two of his recruits, Arneson and DiFrancesco, earned All-Louisiana First-Team accolades in addition to Co-Libero of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively, in their very first year in the program. Additionally, DiFrancesco became the first Lady Demon to win Southland Conference Freshman of the Year in program history and also made it on the All-Conference Second-Team.
The Hernesman’s have made NSU one of the most elite volleyball programs’ in the state. The Lady Demons have posted an impressive 22-1 record against Louisiana opponents in the last three seasons, including wins over Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, New Orleans, Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana.
In 2010, NSU had one of the biggest turnarounds in the nation with 10 more wins than the previous season. Only three other schools in the nation had improved their win total more than NSU that 2010 season. Laranda Spann was named to the LSWA 2nd Team for her efforts.
Academically, the program has received the AVCA Team Academic Award three consecutive years (2011, ‘12 and ‘13); an accolade given for posting a team GPA over 3.30. Between 2010-2013, 43 of 53 players made the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
In addition to establishing a reputation of winning within the conference, Hernesman’s squads do not shy away from any competition and always try to play the best programs they can within the region. Since 2010, NSU has taken part in tournaments at Arkansas State, Samford, Central Arkansas, Southern Miss, Texas Tech, Texas State, Arkansas, UT-Arlington, Stephen F. Austin, North Texas and Baylor.
Hernesman arrived at NSU after serving three seasons as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Ball State and helped coach the 2008 and 2009 teams to the Mid-American Conference Tournament, where the Cardinals lost to the eventual champions both seasons.
In three years, they coached two All-MAC performers as well as developed two players that were named to the 2008 All-MAC Freshman team. They also were a major factor in boasting Ball State’s RPI from No. 254 in their first season in 2007, to No. 50 in 2010.
Prior to joining the Ball State staff, Hugh was joined by Stephanie to transform Hardin-Simmons into a conference champion in just three seasons.
He was named the American Southwest Conference West Division Coach of the Year in both the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Hernesman coached two ASC West Division Players of the Year, two league newcomers of the year, 10 ASC All-Conference selections and a first team Academic All-American.
He also guided his team to the 2006 ASC tournament championship and the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. His 2005 team won the ASC West Division title and was an ASC tournament runner-up. His program won the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2004-05 sports calendar year.
Hugh began his collegiate coaching career at Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1995 and helped guide the Warhawks to nine consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, including four Final Four appearances (1995, 2000, 2001, 2002) and the 2002 National Championship.
His teams won six WIAC Conference titles and posted a 305-45 won-loss record. He also developed and coached eight AVCA All-Americans, including the 2002 National Player of the Year, 10 AVCA All-Region players, and 14 WIAC All-Conference athletes.
He and Stephanie have two children; son, Austin, and daughter, Emma.
