Entering her sixth season at the helm of the Pioneer Volleyball team, Kristin Steele has amassed an overall record of 119-51 (.700) and a HAAC Conference record of 39-7 (.848), making her the most successful coach in program history.
During Steele’s tenure with the Pioneers, she has guided her team to the conference tournament every year, finishing with one runner up and two championships. Her 2011, 2012, and 2013 teams advanced to the final site of the NAIA National Tournament.
The 2012 Pioneers finished the season a perfect 9-0 in regular season conference play and 3-0 in the tournament, marking the first time in program history that the Pioneers had a perfect showing against HAAC schools. After hosting and defeating St. Thomas University in the Opening Round of the National Tournament, the 18-seeded Pioneers rolled through pool play undefeated knocking off #5 Embry-Riddle, #8 Hastings, and #20 Bellevue, advancing to the sweet sixteen before bowing out to #4 Biola in the Elite Eight.
Steele’s first season with the Pioneers proved to be a tough one for the Pioneers. After losing 18 of their first 25 matches, the Pioneers went on a season-end 6 match willing streak, defeating 2-seed Evangel on their home court, advancing to the Conference Tournament final for the first time in program history. This victory also marked the first time a Pioneer squad had defeated a ranked opponent.
Picked to finish second in the conference, the 2011 Pioneers continued on the success felt at the end of the 2010 campaign. The Pioneers finished runner up in the regular season, marking the first time in history that the Pioneers had ranked higher than third. The squad avenged a regular season loss to Baker in the final of the Conference Tournament. That victory marked another program first: a National Tournament berth. With this accomplishment came the program’s first national ranking (20).
Prior to MNU, Steele was the head coach at Redlands College, a program she started in 1997. Her Cougars were ranked in the NJCAA top 20 ten of the fourteen seasons she coached and advanced to the conference tournament all fourteen years. Steele had three Region Championships, six Region Runner-Up finishes and advanced to the National Tournament once.
In her career, Steele has coached 38 All Conference/Region players, eight All-Americans and 30 Academic/Distinguished Academic All-Americans. Seventeen times a Pioneer player has been named Conference Player of the Week.
Her coaching career started after a standout career as a player at the University of Central Oklahoma. In her time at UCO, she was a 4-year starting middle blocker, an All-Conference Athlete and a First Team All-Conference honoree. Steele still holds several playing records at her alma mater including the highest single match hitting percentage (.800), most career solo (177) and assist blocks (515). In 2008, she was named to the Broncho Athletic Hall of Fame.
Steele and her husband, MNU Director of Athletics Kevin Steele, reside in Olathe.
