Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd was the interim head coach for Cal Volleyball in the 2023 season. Jones Schoonderwoerd joined the Golden Bears' staff as an assistant coach in February 2023 and stepped into the interim lead role following Sam Crosson's resignation on July 22, 2023.
Cal posted its first winning record since 2019 (and its second in a decade) under Jones Schoonderwoerd’s leadership, finishing the year at 16-15 (5-15 Pac-12) with an undefeated 11-0 nonconference record; Jones Schoonderwoerd was subsequently recognized as a Volleyball Magazine College Coaching Hotshot. She coached several Bears to significant statistical improvements, including All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention players Tara DeSa and Annalea Maeder. DeSa led the conference in both digs and digs per set, posting the fourth-most digs (513) in a single season in the program’s history, while Maeder tied for the 10th-most service aces (46) in Cal history while recording her first career 1,000-assist season. Both All-Pac-12 honors were the first in either player’s career.
Jones Schoonderwoerd also guided star freshman Maggie Li throughout her historic debut season, in which she earned the program’s first AVCA Pacific West Region Freshman of the Year award and was the only freshman to also receive All-Region honors (Honorable Mention). Li was just the third freshman in program history (and the first since 1990) to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Year status and was the only freshman to make the main All-Pac-12 Team following a campaign in which she notched a program-record six Pac-12 Freshman of the Week nods, consistently ranking among the nation’s top freshmen and top overall conference players in kills, kills per set, points and points per set. She was also named a Volleyball Magazine All-American Honorable Mention after the season, the first freshman in program history to earn that honor.
Jones Schoonderwoerd comes to Cal with a strong collegiate and professional résumé as a player. A native of Long Beach, Jones Schoonderwoerd played volleyball for four years at Washington, earning an AVCA All-American nod as well as three All-Pac-12 honors while also appearing in two Elite Eights. She was later named an All-American while playing beach volleyball at Cal Poly as a graduate student, leading the team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and making her just the second player in NCAA history to earn All-American distinction in both indoor and beach volleyball. Post-graduation, she played for three years on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) beach volleyball tour, earning a Rookie of the Year nomination in 2019, while also playing on Team USA in the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) world beach volleyball tour. Additionally, she acted as an assistant coach for Cal Poly beach volleyball in 2020.
She was one of the nation’s top recruits coming out of high school, where she was a consensus 2013-14 First Team All-American and ranked No. 14 overall on PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces List, as well as a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 honoree and the 2011 ESPNHS National Sophomore of the Year. As a senior, Jones Schoonderwoerd led Los Alamitos High School to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Championship, where they finished runner-up, and earned CIF 1AA Co-Player of the Year honors. She was one half of the top U.S. duo competing at the 2014 FIVB U19 World Beach Volleyball Championships and also played for Tstreet Volleyball Club, helping the 18s take third at the 2013 Junior Nationals just one year after finishing third with the 17s, and won gold with Team USA at the 2012 NORCECA U18 Championships.
Jones Schoonderwoerd comes from an athletic family, with her parents Stephanie and Derek both having played collegiate basketball at Boise State and Cal State Fullerton, respectively.
