Jennifer Saylor is entering her first season as the head women’s volleyball coach at Rockford University. Saylor becomes the fifteenth head coach in the program’s 45-year history and the fifth over the last seven seasons.
Coach Saylor brings with her a wealth of knowledge and coaching experience at the club, high school and collegiate level including ten years as a head coach at NCAA Division III institutions. Her most recent coaching experience in the past five years has been as a head coach at both Morton High School and the Capital Volleyball Academy. Prior to that, Saylor spent four seasons as the head coach at Lake Forest College and six years at Illinois College.
During her time at Lake Forest, Saylor’s squads were repeatedly near the top of the Midwest Conference. Her team finished tied for third in the Midwest Conference (MWC) in three of her four seasons including earning a berth in the conference tournament in each of her final two years. In her final season with the Foresters, Saylor was named the MWC Coach of the Year as she led her team to a second place finish in the conference tournament.
Immediately prior to Lake Forest, Saylor served as the head volleyball coach at Illinois College. While at IC, the Lady Blues were routinely a force in the Midwest Conference finishing in the top three in the south division five times including tying for first on three occasions. Her team qualified for the MWC Tournament in five of her six seasons, while also winning at least twenty matches in three consecutive years. In addition to her volleyball duties at Illinois College, Saylor was also the head softball coach. During her six seasons at the helm of the softball program, Saylor guided the Lady Blues to a trio of second place finishes in the south division and was named the MWC Softball Coach of the Year in each of those three years.
Saylor earned her bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from Heidelberg University and her master’s degree in Sports Medicine and Coaching from the United States Sports Academy. Coach Saylor currently resides in Harvard, Ill. with her husband Sean and their two children Peyton, age 2, and Jase, 7 months.