Crowder Announces Departure from Florida Southern Volleyball

LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College volleyball head coach Ashlee Crowder has announced that she will be departing the program after three years at the helm of the Moccasins. Crowder will be stepping away from coaching and spending more time with her family.
 
"Coach Crowder has been a great leader for our volleyball program, and her impact on our student-athletes extends far beyond the court," said Director of Athletics and Dean of Wellness Drew Howard. "We are saddened to see her leave and wish her the best in the future."
 
Over her three seasons leading the Mocs, Crowder posted a 48-39 record, guiding the Mocs to the NCAA South Region Championship Semifinals in 2023. She coached seven All-SSC honorees for the Mocs, including the program's first SSC Defensive Player of the Year, Nako Sasaki, who took home the award this past season. During her first season on the sidelines as head coach, Crowder helped guide Mackenzie Petermann to AVCA All-America honors, just the 34^th All-American in program history.
 
" I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have coached at Florida Southern," said Crowder on her time at FSC. " Beginning as an assistant coach in 2018 and working my way up to head coach has been an amazing and meaningful experience. I would like to thank Drew Howard for his leadership over the years, as well as Jill Stephens for her continued support and mentorship. This school and this program are truly special. It was also wonderful to see President Dr. Jeremy Martin regularly attending sporting events and showing his support. I want nothing more than to see this program continue to succeed in the future. I will certainly miss it."
 
In her very first season at the helm, Crowder led the Moccasins to their 34th NCAA Regional appearance and earned the first victory at the NCAA South Region Tournament for the program since 2018. She guided four student-athletes to All-Sunshine State Conference honors including Petermann who became the first, First Team All-SSC selection of Crowder's tenure. Petermann went on to be the first AVCA All-America selection for the program since 2018.
 
During the 2024 season, Crowder guided the Mocs to a pair of wins over programs receiving votes in the national poll including a 3-2 victory over Nova Southeastern on the final day of the regular season. She saw a pair of student-athletes earn All-SSC honors including a Second Team nod for Sandra Sasaki and a Third Team selection for Madison Fowler.
 
Following the graduation of seven seniors off the 2024 squad, Crowder rebuilt the FSC roster for 2025. She recruited 11 new student-athletes to the program and had an entirely new starting lineup. She guided newcomer Nako Sasaki to D2CCA All-South Region honors as well as earning SSC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Prior to serving as head coach at FSC, Crowder was an assistant coach for the FSC Volleyball program from 2018-20. She helped guide the team to a 2018 NCAA South Region Tournament appearance. She also helped the program navigate the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic before getting the call to take over the Florida Tech program prior to the 2021 season.
 
She took over the Florida Tech volleyball program in August of 2021, just weeks before the regular season was scheduled to begin. She guided the program through a difficult 2021 season and began the rebuilding process. Her 2022 roster featured six freshmen, one redshirt freshman, three sophomores, three juniors, a senior, and a graduate student. Just five of the student-athletes on the 2022 roster had seen action in a Florida Tech uniform in 2021. Crowder led the Panthers to their first double-digit win total since 2015 and tied for the most wins since 2013.
 
Prior to her time at Florida Southern, Crowder was the assistant volleyball coach at the University of Indianapolis from 2016-18. Similar to her role at FSC, Crowder served as the recruiting and summer camp coordinator at UIndy. The Greyhounds earned a record of 28-35 over her two seasons in Indianapolis.
 
Before heading to Indianapolis, Crowder spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Grand Valley State, where she helped the Lakers advance to two consecutive NCAA Tournaments. She was on the coaching staff in 2014 when GVSU went 27-6 overall, captured the Midwest Region Championship by sweeping all three opponents, and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in Louisville, Ky.
 
An outside hitter herself, Crowder had a very decorated playing career at Hillsdale College. She continues to be Hillsdale's career leader in kills (1,703) and her 491 kills in 2009 are the third-highest single-season total in Charger history. Crowder was twice named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011 as well as the Daktronics Midwest Region Player of the Year in 2011. Additionally, she was a three-time AVCA All-American, including consecutive First Team All-America honors in 2010 and 2011. In 2018, Crowder was inducted into the Hillsdale College Athletics Hall of Fame.