GOSHEN, Ind. - Jewel Lehman will begin serving immediately as the Maple Leafs' interim head men's volleyball coach. Coach Lauren Ford recently announced her resignation in order to accept a new coaching opportunity. 

"I am excited to welcome Coach Jewel Lehman to the interim head coaching position for our men's volleyball team," said Dr. Erica Albertin, director of athletics. "Jewel cares deeply for the holistic development of our student-athletes. She loves Goshen College, and I am thankful she is stepping into this leadership role while continuing to teach. Jewel brings volleyball knowledge, coaching experience, and communication skills to the team, and she plans to contribute without completely altering the strategies that have been working." A national search for a new head coach is also underway.

Lehman is professor of kinesiology and the department chair, and has experience on the sidelines at Goshen College, having served as the women's volleyball head coach from 2004 to 2008. Her teams posted winning records in three of her five seasons, and the team won 20 games in her final year. 

"The most important role I can play in this new situation is to make sure the program continues to be successful, as it has been the last several years," said Lehman. "This team is unified, focused, hardworking and talented. Facilitating their success is the main goal at this time."

Lehman played collegiate volleyball at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) and was the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Player of the Year for three consecutive years. She was an NCAA Regional All-America Selection in 1986 and is still in the top three in the program's history for career service aces and career hitting percentage. Lehman was a part of four ODAC champion teams at EMU and is in their athletic Hall of Fame. She was also the first female athlete for Eastern Mennonite to have her jersey retired. 

She also previously served as head coach of the women's volleyball team at Division-I school Campbell University (Buies Creek, North Carolina) and had a record of 69-64 over four seasons, including a 32-7 mark in her last year. She is second in Campbell's program history in total wins.

Val Hershberger, associate professor of kinesiology, will step in as assistant coach. She previously served as the head coach of the women's volleyball team at Goshen from 1996 to 2000, accumulating 58 wins over five seasons. 

Ford joined Goshen as an assistant coach for the women's volleyball team in 2019 and was hired into the head men's volleyball coach role in the summer of 2021. She guided the team to a new school record with 20 wins last season, topping the previous mark of 15.

"We appreciate Lauren's good work as our men's head volleyball coach," Albertin said. "She continued to build the foundation for this young but successful program, and we wish her the best for her next step in her career."

"I am excited about being a part of the team's success — wins on the court and development as young men," Lehman said.

The team begins its season on Friday, January 27, at Siena Heights University. The program has found tremendous success since its beginning in 2019. They have a 50-24 record since the start of the 2020 season.