Jenifer Bahner-Hill enters her 12th year at the helm of the Drury volleyball program with 157 career victories, already ranking as the second-winningest coach in DU history.
Bahner-Hill led the program to its best-ever season as an NCAA Division II program in 2018, claiming a Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season championship. She brings an overall coaching ledger of 157-141 (.527) into the 2025 campaign, trailing only Barbara Cowherd's 487 victories on the Panthers' all-time coaching wins list.
Last fall, Bahner-Hill helped pilot an eight-victory turnaround that included DU winning six of its first eight matches of the season. Drury her tenure, the Panthers have produced 18 all-conference performers, three All-Midwest Region picks, and two All-Americans.
In 2021, the Panthers went 20-11, posting a 12-3 record at O'Reilly Family Event Center. That roster featured three all-conference selections, including Taylor Forth, who was a first-team All-GLVC pick.
Bahner-Hill led the Panthers to their best-ever record as an NCAA Division II program in 2018, as they went 28-7, won a co-conference championship for the first time in team history going 15-3 in the GLVC. They earned their first-ever bid to the NCAA-II Tournament, and were awarded a host bid to the Midwest Regional. The Panthers advanced to the second round of the national tournament after an opening-round win over Hillsdale.
The 2018 season also produced five all-conference selections, three All-Midwest Region performers, and the program's first NCAA-II All-Americans as Bentley Mara and Kendra Sater were both honorable mention honorees at the national level.
Her team followed their break-through season by going 11-4 in the GLVC and finished just one game out of first place in league standings. Drury went 17-16 overall in 2019.
Bahner-Hill was inducted into the Cowley College Athletics Hall of Fame in January of 2019 and has been a two-time recipient of the AVCA's 'Thirty-Under-Thirty' award.
In 2017, she was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame for her work at Cowley County (Kan.) Community College, where her teams compiled a record of 177-16 during her five years as a head coach. Her squads won two national junior college championships, finished as the national runner-up twice, posted one third-place finish, and won the Jayhawk East Conference in each of her five seasons as head coach. She was named NJCAA National Coach of the Year twice during her tenure.
Bahner-Hill also serves as a coach for 417 Volleyball and is the head coach for the 16-year-old national group.
She played at Baker (Kan.) University where she graduated magna cum laude. She began her coaching career at Pittsburg State as a graduate assistant, helping PSU to a pair of top 25 finishes and NCAA-II Tournament berths in her two years with the program.
Bahner-Hill married Nathan Hill in 2022 and has two daughters, Paityn and Emersyn Grace.
JENIFER BAHNER-HILL YEAR-BY-YEAR
| YEAR |
REC. |
CONF. |
FINISH |
POSTSEASON |
| 2024 |
14-13 |
4-9 |
T-10th |
|
| 2023 |
6-22 |
3-10 |
T-11th |
|
| 2022 |
13-17 |
4-8 |
T-8th |
|
| 2021 |
20-11*
2-11 (officially) |
10-8
2-8 |
3rd-W |
|
| 2020-21 |
9-9*
1-9 (officially) |
9-9
1-9 |
3rd-W |
|
| 2019 |
17-16 |
11-4 |
T-4th |
GLVC quarterfinals |
| 2018 |
28-7 |
15-3 |
T-1st |
GLVC finals; NCAA-II 2nd round |
| 2017 |
19-12 |
8-10 |
3rd-W |
|
| 2016 |
20-12 |
11-7 |
4th-W |
GLVC quarterfinals |
| 2015 |
21-11 |
11-7 |
3rd-W |
GLVC quarterfinals |
| 2014 |
16-11 |
7-11 |
5th-W |
|
| TOTALS |
183-141*
157-141 (official) |
93-86
77-86 |
|
4 GLVC tournaments; 1 NCAA-II Tournament |
* The NCAA vacated wins from Drury Athletics in 2021 and in 2020-21, when several student-athletes were not properly certified.
- no GLVC divisional play in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
