Denison University

Carter Cassell will enter his 10th season with the Big Red in the 2026 season. Over the course of his Big Red tenure, Cassell has accumulated 115 wins, two NCAC Regular Season championships, two NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors,and seven top-five conference finishes.

In 2025, Denison finished with a 14-16 overall record and 4-3 record in conference play, finishing fourth in the NCAC. It is the sixth consecutive season Denison has finished top-five in the conference standings. The season was highlighted with a 3-2 upset win over No. 3 nationally-ranked Hope College and a NCAC Tournament semifinal appearance. Denison was dominant in the offensive end in conference play, ranking in top three in points per set (17.29), assists per set (11.82), kills (435), kills per set (12.79), and service aces (89). Two Big Red were named All-NCAC for their efforts, as Alice Kempf and Maeve Perry were named second team All-NCAC.

Denison claimed the 2024 Bridget Sheehan Coaching Staff of the Year honors, the sixth NCAC coaching award in program history. The Denison squad was guided to a near-perfect 6-1 mark in league play and the program's second NCAC championship title, which also earned the team hosting rights for the 2024 NCAC Tournament semifinals and final. In conference play, the Big Red produced the best hitting percentage in the league (.237), the most assists per set (13.23), kills per set (13.92) and points per set (17.15). Denison also topped the league in opponent service aces per set (1.38) and digs per set (15.27), while also ranking in the top-four in opponent hitting percentage (.149), assists per set (9.65) and kills per set (10.50).

In 2023, a youthful Big Red squad finished 10-18 overall and 3-4 in conference play while Denison also had its first 3-0 start to a season since 2012. Freshman outside hitter Claire Hamilton earned second-team conference honors while senior middle hitter Corinne Boyd, junior middle hitter Cailey Johns and sophomore setter Alice Kempf received third-team recognition.

The Big Red finished the 2022 season 13-13 overall, won each of their first five conference matches of the season without dropping a set, and were the only team from the NCAC to take a set off of Wittenberg. Following a second-place finish in the NCAC regular-season standings (6-1), Denison was honored with four All-NCAC selections while senior middle blocker Lucy Anderson was named the NCAC Player of the Year for the second season in a row and senior libero Jenna Corrao was named the NCAC Libero of the Year. Anderson then went on to become the first back-to-back All-Region selection in Big Red volleyball history, and one year after becoming the first All-American in the history of the Denison volleyball program, she was selected as a back-to-back Third-Team All-American by the AVCA.

2021 was an historic season for Denison volleyball as the Big Red captured the program's first-ever NCAC Championship with a perfect record of 8-0 in conference play and a mark of 19-7 overall. Junior middle hitter Lucy Anderson (Third-Team) and freshman outside hitter Daria Rodriguez (Honorable Mention) became the first two NCAA All-Americans in the history of the Denison volleyball program while Anderson was also the first Big Red volleyball player to be named NCAC Player of the Year. Rodriguez, meanwhile, was the first Denison volleyball player to earn Region Freshman of the Year and was the third in a row to win NCAC Newcomer of the Year. Additionally, Coach Cassell was named NCAC Coach of the Year for the second time in a row.

The Big Red's 2020 Fall season was canceled due to COVID-19 Pandemic. Cassell's team did play in six matches in the spring and Denison went 2-4. 

In 2019, Cassell and the Big Red enjoyed a breakthrough season where DU posted an overall record of 18-8 while reaching the NCAC Tournament championship match. Cassell was also named the NCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career while Lucy Anderson was named NCAC Newcomer of the Year and First-Team All-NCAC. Denison also turned in a 10-match winning streak from Sept. 14-Oct. 8, which is the longest winning streak in program history since 1993. 

In 2017, Denison finished with a 15-14 record and advanced to the NCAC Tournament semifinals before being eliminated by top-seeded Wittenberg. Kristin Thewes and Leah Reinfranck received All-NCAC accolades, with Thewes receiving the Libero of the Year award. In 2018 the Big Red finished 11-15 but ended the campaign in strong fashion, winning four of its last six matches. First-year Peyton McElfresh was named the NCAC's Newcomer of the Year and was also a Second-Team All-NCAC selection in addition to being named to the NCAC All-Tournament Team.

Cassell came to Denison after three seasons an assistant coach at Kenyon College. Cassell joined the coaching staff at Kenyon in 2014 along with new head coaching hire, Amanda Krampf. The new staff was charged with rebuilding the Kenyon program and Cassell was heavily involved in all aspects of planning practices, organizing the team’s strength and conditioning to scouting and recruiting. In year’s two and three, Kenyon posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1989-90. In 2016, Kenyon finished 18-12 placing third in the NCAC regular-season standings. Outside hitter Delaney Swanson was named to the All-NCAC first-team and two players earned honorable mention.

In addition to his assistant coaching duties at Kenyon, he also served in various game management roles and was a building manager for the Kenyon Athletic Center.

Cassell is a 2014 graduate of The Ohio State University where he received a B.S. in education while majoring in sports industry and minoring in business. In the summer of 2018, Cassell completed his master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University-Irvine.

After a standout prep career which saw him be named the 2010 Ohio Boys Volleyball Player of the Year and a Second-Team AVCA High School All-American, Cassell attended Lewis University in 2011 where he was a member of their NCAA Division I men’s volleyball team. He transferred to Ohio State the following year and was a member of the Buckeyes’ nationally-ranked club volleyball team. In 2013, he was named the Big Ten Men’s Volleyball Association Player of the Year.

Cassell is the seventh head volleyball coach in Denison history, and is now ranked third in program history in wins.