STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Stony Brook Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron has named former Wyoming associate head coach Kristin Belzung the new head volleyball coach, the athletic department announced Friday.
 
Belzung most recently completed her fourth season with the Wyoming volleyball program and her first as the associate head coach. During her time with the Cowgirls, Belzung helped the squad average just over 21 wins per season under head coach Chad Callihan.
 
"As a player and coach, Kristin Belzung has proven to be a dynamic leader who understands what it takes to win. I am extremely excited to welcome her to the Stony Brook family as our new head volleyball coach and look forward to working with her to elevate our program to new heights. Our volleyball student-athletes are high-achievers and I am confident that they will achieve all of their academic and athletic goals under Kristin's direction."
 
Prior to her time at Wyoming, Belzung spent three seasons at South Dakota State as an assistant coach. Prior to that, she spent two years at South Carolina, where she spent her first season as a graduate assistant and the second as the director of operations for the Gamecock volleyball program.
 
"First of all, thank you to Shawn Heilbron and Donna Woodruff for trusting me to lead the Stony Brook volleyball program," Belzung said. "I am so impressed by the entire department's commitment to creating a fantastic experience for student-athletes. The opportunity for success and to coach at such a great institution is exciting." 
 
Before starting her coaching career, Belzung was a four-year standout setter at Northern Iowa while playing for Bobbi Peterson. A two-time first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection, she ranks fourth in UNI history with 4,256 assists and with an 11.3 assists per game average. Belzung helped the team to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2006 and 2007 and earned the State Farm MVC Tournament MVP in her squad's first of two straight conference tourney crowns.
 
A native of Ankeny, Iowa, Belzung starred in the classroom as well, earning the State Farm MVC Good Neighbor Award, an honor that recognizes athletes for their excellence in academics, sportsmanship and community service. She also garnered Dean's List recognition in six of her nine semesters at UNI and twice earned a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete first team. Belzung served as a SAAC representative and participated in the NCAA National Leadership Conference.
 
Belzung, an inductee of the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union Volleyball Hall of Fame, graduated with a bachelor's degree in health promotion/environmental health from Northern Iowa in 2008, and completed her master's degree in sport and entertainment management from South Carolina in the spring of 2010.

Pending University approval, Belzung is expected to begin her duties next week.