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Mark Hulse, a native of Evanston, Illinois, enters his seventh season as the head men’s volleyball coach at Loyola University Chicago in 2022 after serving as an assistant coach for the previous four years.
In six seasons at the helm of the Loyola program, Hulse has guided the Ramblers to 102 wins, including 34 victories over nationally ranked opponents. He has produced 11 All-Americans, including two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First Team All-America selection Jeff Jendryk, who is the first player in Rambler history and just the 12
thin NCAA Division I-II annals to be a first or second team selection four times in his career.
The 2021 season presented many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Hulse deftly managed his young squad through a unique year and steered it to a 15-6 overall record, a runner-up finish in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) race and a spot in the MIVA Tournament championship match. In addition, the Ramblers closed out the campaign ranked No. 10 in the AVCA Division I-II Poll. Hulse’s tutelage helped Luke Denton, Cole Schlothauer and Garrett Zolg earn First Team All-MIVA honors, the first time since 2018 that Loyola has produced three or more first team all-league picks. Schlothauer and Zolg also were recognized at a national level for their achievements, earning AVCA Honorable Mention All-America accolades. He also became the third coach in program history to win at least 100 matches when he picked up win No. 100 in a victory over Ball State on March 27.
Thanks to Hulse’s steady leadership, a young Ramblers team was starting to find itself when the remainder of 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March. Loyola prevailed in two of its final three outings of the year and Hulse helped redshirt freshman outside hitter Cole Schlothauer develop into a First Team All-MIVA selection, while also securing MIVA Newcomer of the Year honors. Senior Kyle Piekarski continued his ascension into one of the top middles in the country earning First Team All-MIVA designation after ranking third in the nation with a .509 hitting percentage.
Under Hulse’s tutelage in 2019, Loyola notched at least 20 wins for the sixth time in the last seven years, going 21-8 overall and 12-2 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) action to finish second in the league race. The Ramblers finished the year ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Division I-II Poll, marking the seventh time in eight seasons Loyola found itself in the top 10 in the season-ending poll. His club racked up seven victories against nationally ranked foes, including a five-set thriller over No. 5 and eventual NCAA semifinalist Pepperdine. Highlighted by Collin Mahan being named AVCA Second Team All-America, three other players earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-America recognition.
The 2018 campaign was a bounce-back season for the Ramblers as they improved seven games in the win column, going 23-7 overall, en route to a No. 7 final ranking in the AVCA Division I-II Poll. Hulse steered Loyola to a share of the MIVA regular season title, the program’s first since 2014. After guiding the Ramblers to 13 wins over nationally ranked opponents, producing four first-team all-conference selections as well as three AVCA All-Americans, Hulse was named MIVA Coach of the Year. Off the court, 12 Ramblers were named to the MIVA Academic All-Conference Team.
Hulse piloted the Ramblers to a 20-8 overall record in his first season as head coach in 2016, giving Loyola its fourth straight 20-win campaign. The 2017 outfit produced 16 wins and finished the season ranked No. 14 in the AVCA Division I-II Poll, marking the 18
thtime in program history that Loyola was ranked in the season-ending poll.
Thomas Jaeschke, a former pupil of Hulse’s and a two-time All-American, became the first Loyola student-athlete ever to earn an Olympic medal when he helped the U.S. National Team win bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and both Jaeschke and Jendryk competed for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the Volleyball Nations League in 2018 and FIVB World League play in 2017.
During his time as an assistant coach in Rogers Park, Hulse helped guide Loyola to two NCAA titles, three Final Four appearances and three MIVA Championships. He coached six AVCA All-Americans (Joseph Smalzer, Thomas Jaeschke, Cody Caldwell, Nicholas Olson, Peter Hutz and Jeff Jendryk) and mentored both the 2015 AVCA National Player of the Year (Jaeschke) and 2015 AVCA Newcomer of the Year (Jendryk).
In April 2014, Hulse was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Assistant Coach of the Year after guiding the Ramblers to their second straight NCAA Final Four appearance. One month earlier, he was a recipient of the AVCA Thirty Under 30 award, an honor bestowed upon 30 up-and-coming volleyball coaches under 30 years old at all levels of the game.
In addition to his coaching duties at Loyola, Hulse has served as a coach for the USA Youth A1 National Training Program in 2016, 2014 and 2012. He was also an assistant coach/statistician for the 2012 USAV Youth National Team that took third at the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Qualifier in Long Beach, Calif. In 2019, Hulse served as an assistant coach with USA Volleyball at the Pan American Games in Peru.
During his time as a student-athlete, Hulse competed for two seasons at Rutgers-Newark University before transferring to Pepperdine University for his final two years of collegiate eligibility. As a member of the Waves' men's volleyball squad, Hulse helped the program to 39 wins in two years, including a 22-5 overall mark in 2009.
A force at the net, he was a starting middle blocker and a key contributor on Pepperdine's 2008 squad that finished as NCAA Runner-Up, losing to Penn State in the national championship match.
He graduated from Pepperdine in 2009 with a degree in political science.
Hulse and his wife, Amanda, reside in Evanston, with their daughter, Leighton, and son, Max.
