SJO volleyball head coach inducted into Hall of Fame

Normal - St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball head coach Abby McDonald was honored this past Saturday during the year's IHSA Volleyball State Finals with her induction into the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

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Having won more than 400 matches during her coaching career, St. Joseph-Ogden head coach Abby McDonald has become a member of the IVCA Hall of Fame. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Under her leadership, the SJO volleyball program collects 20-win seasons like Halloween candy. Earlier this season McDonald earned her 400th career coach win. A mere 1,432 days earlier, the Spartans celebrated her 300th coaching victory in 2019.

McDonald, a second-grade teacher by trade, took over the head coaching position at St. Joseph-Ogden High School in 2008. Since then, the Spartans have won nine IHSA regional titles, two sectional, and two supersectional titles. In 2016, finished as runner-up in the IHSA Class 2A state tournament and she led the program back again in 2019, when the finish third in the state.

The veteran coach has amassed 417 wins against just 95 losses and looks to continue to build on her coaching legacy.

McDonald knows volleyball.

She graduated from Hoopeston Area High School in 2001. She was a three-sport athlete earning ten varsity levels. After a two-year stint at Danville Community College where she was team captain, All-Conference, and the team's MVP, she also ranked in the top 10 in the nation for assists per game. After two years, McDonald transfered to University of Illinois-Springfield where she quickly found herself back in her leadership role as a team captain and starter for the Prairie Stars.