Kara Matthews joined the Randolph College coaching staff in the summer of 2012 as an assistant coach and was promoted to the interim head position before the 2014 season.
After a stellar 2014 campaign, Matthews was promoted to head coach.
In Randolph’s record-setting 2014 season, Matthews coached the WildCats to the most wins since 1997 and the program’s first ODAC tournament appearance since 2006.
In that campaign, Randolph swept eventual second seeded Virginia Wesleyan, earning the program’s second win against the Marlins ever.
In addition, Randolph won a set at Washington and Lee in the regular season for the first time in 33 matches, then forced the eventual conference champions to five sets in the ODAC tournament.
Randolph shattered its highest-ever hitting percentage mark in 2014, breaking .200 for the first time ever, on its way to a .233 clip.
Matthews coached three all-ODAC players, including an all-region selection in 2014. Jordan Templin was named the AVCA’s National Player of the Week on Oct. 21, 2014, which marked just the third time in history in which an ODAC player earned that award.
Matthews followed 2014 with a stellar 2015. The WildCats needed to win their final four matches in order to make the ODAC tournament. Matthews guided them to four-straight wins, including a come-from-behind win over Lynchburg College. It was the first time the WildCats beat the Hornets since 1997, and it gave Randolph the seventh seed, pushing Lynchburg to the eighth.
Matthews came to the WildCats after a four-year stint with Lynchburg College, where she was a four-year letter-winner. In addition, she was a two-year captain on the Liberty University club beach volleyball team. She had the opportunity to travel up and down the east coast, competing against many semi-professional teams while earning a Masters’ degree in sport management.
Matthews also has valuable coaching experience consisting of directing and operating various summer camps and clinics for local clubs and high schools, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) summer camps, and Randolph College summer volleyball camps. She also just completed her fifth year as an assistant for the Heart of Virginia (HOV) volleyball club.
Matthews was chosen to participate in an Athletes in Action (AIA) volleyball tour to Costa Rica. She competed against various universities, club teams, and the Costa Rican National team during the summer of 2012.