Blakemore joins volleyball staff at Kansas Wesleyan after two seasons at helm at HLGU

HANNIBAL, Mo. — After two seasons at the helm of the Hannibal-LaGrange University women’s volleyball program, Maliah Blakemore is leaving to join the coaching staff at Kansas Wesleyan University.

Blakemore, a Quincy High School graduate, was a graduate assistant at HLGU during the 2020 season before taking over as the interim head coach two weeks prior to the 2021 season when former Trojans coach Halee Hensley resigned. Blackmore led the Trojans to a 15-11 record and was named the American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year following a nine-win improvement from 2020.

In November 2021, the interim tag was removed and Blakemore became HLGU’s full-time head coach. Last fall, the Trojans went 11-21 overall and 5-5 in the AMC, losing to Missouri Baptist in the opening round of the AMC Tournament.

Blakemore will be joining a KWU program that went 28-7 last fall, won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship and played in the NAIA national tournament for the first time since 2014.

“Maliah has an impressive resume with the fast rebuild she did as a head coach at Hannibal,” Kansas Wesleyan coach Jessica Biegert said in a press release. “We are honored to add an AMC Coach of the Year to help us reach new strides in our program. She will push our team to reach our full potential with high standards while refusing to accept shortcomings.”

Blakemore, who was a three-year starter at QHS, played collegiately at Lincoln Christian University, where she was a four-time Association of Independent Institutions all-conference selection and the league’s Setter of the Year in 2019. She ranks third all-time in assists at LCU.