The Fort Lewis College volleyball team will have a new coach next season. Giedre Tarnauskaite is no longer the Skyhawks’ volleyball coach, she confirmed.
“I am grateful for the time I have spent at Fort Lewis and the people I’ve met who will be my lifetime friends,” Tarnauskaite said.
Tarnauskaite and the Skyhawks went 10-16 overall and 6-8 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2024. During her five seasons as head coach at FLC, the Skyhawks went 43-69 overall for a 38.3 winning percentage; FLC went 30-47 in RMAC play during that span.
When asked about Tarnauskaite’s tenure at FLC, Skyhawks Director of Athletics Travis Whipple said Tarnausakite resigned and that “Institutional policy doesn’t allow for additional comment.”
The Skyhawks’ best overall record under Tarnauskaite was in 2023 when they went 13-13 overall. FLC went to the RMAC tournament once in Tarnauskaite’s tenure in 2022 after it went 8-10 in conference play; FLC lost in the tournament quarterfinal to MSU Denver.
Tarnauskaite had multiple All-RMAC players during her tenure. Butler and senior setter Natalia Lambos were honorable mention all-conference in 2024.
“We have initiated a national search process and are working diligently on that,” Whipple said. “We are encouraged by the interest in the opportunity and are committed to finding our next leader to continue to elevate the program.”
Whipple added that there’s no set timeline and the athletic department is moving through the process as efficiently as possible while trying to ensure the right fit.
This will be the ninth coaching change since Whipple took over the FLC Athletic Department in June 2022.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
