Emily Butler (Thebeau) was named the 10th head coach in the 45-year history of the Monmouth College volleyball program in January of 2019. During the 2021 season she led the Scots to their first MWC Tournament in nine years with a fourth place finish in the regular season.
In her first season, junior Riley Cook was named All-Midwest Conference, the Scots' first all-league honoree in four years. The team also doubled their league win total from the previous year and tied for fifth in the MWC standings, their highest conference finish since 2012. In 2021, Kaylee Woodard was named MWC Newcomer of the Year and also named MWC first-team while Karlie Drish was awarded the Elite 20 Award for academic success by the conference. In all three years, two seasons, the volleyball team has earned All-Academic statsus from USMC/AVCA.
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A four-year member of the Greenville University volleyball team as a setter and defensive specialist, the former Emily Thebeau has extensive postseason experience as a player and a coach. The DeSoto, Missouri, native played in the NCAA tournament during her junior and senior seasons and was on the bench as an assistant coach the following two seasons when the Panthers advanced to the NCAA tournament.
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Butler has been active with club volleyball in the St. Louis area and various camps and clinics during her coaching career and now works with club volleyball teams in the Quad Cities area.
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Butler earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Greenville University in 2017, and earned her Master’s in business administration from the same institution. She married Brandon Butler in April 2022 and the couple reside in Galesburg.Â
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