March 22, 2005

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina athletics director Chip Smith announced today that Catamount head volleyball coach Angell Benson has resigned her post in favor of raising her son, Jett. A national search will begin immediately to fill the vacated position.

"First, I would like to thank Western Carolina for the past three seasons," Benson said. "Western is dear to my heart and returning to my alma mater was always a goal of mine. However, after discussions with my husband, Sam, we have decided that me staying home to raise our son is best for our family. I will continue to follow and support the Catamounts and hope nothing but the best for them in the future."

Benson, a Waynesville native and recipient of two degrees from Western, recently completed her third season as the Catamounts' head coach, compiling a 50-45 record over her tenure. Spending six seasons as head coach at Gardner-Webb prior to returning to Cullowhee, Benson's nine-year head coaching record stands at 216-114.

Under Benson's guidance, Western finished 26th in the NCAA in digs per game with 17.85 per contest in 2003. Also that season, Kellyn Thaut was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, which marked the first time in WCU volleyball history that a Catamount has received the honor. In her inaugural season, WCU finished the season ranked sixth nationally in digs per game (19.61) and then junior Sara Komosinski was named a first team All-SoCon as the Cats finished the season at 22-12. Komosinski went on to finish her career as WCU's all-time leader in blocks with 563.

While at Gardner-Webb, Benson posted a 166-69 record with the Bulldogs from 1996 to 2001, coaching them to a South Atlantic Championship in 1997 (31-7) and in 1999 (42-4). She was named the conference Coach of the Year during each of those seasons. The Gardner-Webb athletic program made the transition from a Division II to a Division I program by the 1999-00 school year. While the school was recognized as a Division II institution, Benson coached six first team All-South Atlantic Conference players, one of which was named Freshman of the Year in 1997. She also coached one Player of the Year during the 1999 season. Additionally, during that time, Benson led the Bulldogs to a 48-10 conference record - a winning percentage of .827 - and posted 30 wins or more twice during that span, winning 31 matches in 1997 and a school-record 42 matches in 1999.

Before her career at Gardner-Webb, Benson worked as a graduate assistant with the Western Carolina volleyball team assisting with recruiting, camps and scheduling. Benson played for the Catamounts from 1989-1992 as a utility player and served as a team captain during her senior season. She helped lead WCU to a Southern Conference regular-season championship in 1989. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Western in 1993 and later went on to receive her Master of Arts degree in Education in 1997.

A product of Tuscola High School, Benson led the Mountaineers to a North Carolina Class 4A state championship as a senior in 1998.