UC Riverside

Michelle Patton-Coleman was named Head Volleyball Coach at UC Riverside on January 18, 2013, following a five-year tenure as head coach at San Francisco State, reviving a program that lay dormant from 2004-07.

In 2015, following 2-26 records in her first two seasons, Patton-Coleman led the Highlanders to the third-most wins in the program's Big West membership with a 10-19 record. The five conference wins in 2015 were the most since UCR joined the Big West in 2002.

The 2016 season saw the Highlanders post their best neutral site record (5-3) under Patton-Coleman, and one of her first recruits, Maddie Hubbell, become the program's all-time digs leader. Hubbell was named All-Conference Honorable Mention, and Mickayla Sherman was selected to the All-Freshman Team.

The 2017 team finished 10-18, followed by a 9-19 record in 2018. The 2019 squad fell to 6-22 before COVOD-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 competition schedule.

Prior to UC Riverside, at San Francisco State, coach Patton-Coleman took over a program that was disbanded following the 2003 season after a five-year stretch that saw them compile a record of 20-126.

Patton-Coleman nearly matched that win total in her first year as San Francisco State went 13-16 in 2008. The following season, the Gators went 20-11 on their way to the team's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1987. Included in those victories were a pair of upsets over  No. 13 Sonoma State and No. 2 UC San Diego, along with a sweep of traditional power Cal Poly Pomona for the first time since 1998.

In 2010, SF State registered its first back-to-back winning seasons since 1996-97 after recording a 14-13 overall record and an 11-11 mark in the CCAA, including an upset of nationally ranked UC San Diego for the second year in a row to go along with its first sweep of perennial league contender Cal State L.A. in 23 years.

The following year, SF State compiled a 15-12 record and an 11-11 mark in the CCAA, marking the first time since 1986-88 that the Purple and Gold posted an overall winning record in three consecutive seasons. The Gators reeled off a five-match winning streak from Sept. 17-Oct. 1, capped by a four-set road victory at Cal State L.A.

With rising win totals came increased individual recognition capped off by setter Iris Tolenada's 2012 CCAA Most Valuable Player award. She also was honored with her fourth straight all-conference selection.

Middle blocker Meagan Wright was named Freshman of the year and First-Team, All-CCAA in 2012 while opposite hitter Megan Johnson and outside hitter Kelly Ostello both received second-team nods.

Outside hitter Beth Perkins earned all-conference accolades during the 2008 and 2009 seasons while libero Sarah Kurfess was named to the second team in 2010, and middle hitter Hailmah Oswald was recognized with a second team selection in 2010 and a first-team honor in 2011.

The Gators also placed 11 players on the CCAA All-Academic teams during the 2010-11 seasons.

In 2012, the Gators posted the second best winning percentage in the history of the program going 21-9 on the year including a 16-6 mark in California Collegiate Athletic Association play and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Those 16 conference victories were the most in the 35-year history of the program, earning San Francisco State its best-ever finish in league play as the Gators came in second behind NCAA Finalist Cal State San Bernardino.

Prior to her appointment at SF State, Patton-Coleman served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Wyoming from 2004-07.

Patton-Coleman began her coaching career as an assistant coach at her alma mater, the University of Washington, from 2002-2004, where she was involved in successfully rebuilding a Pac-10 program, helping the Huskies to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and an Elite Eight finish in 2003.

In addition to women’s volleyball, Patton-Coleman has coached two men’s teams in her career. In 2003, Patton-Coleman led the Seattle Athletic Club to a seventh-place national finish at the USA Men’s Open Championships in Minneapolis, MN, and coached the San Francisco State men’s club team to a first-time NCCVL league championship in March 2008.

Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Patton was a setter at Washington from 1994-1997, where she helped the nationally-ranked Huskies to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 finish in 1997. She ranks fifth on the UW career list for assists with 2,655 and 11th for aces with 97. In 1996, Patton-Coleman averaged 13.28 assists per game, which is still sixth on the Huskies’ single-season list.

Along with her on-court success, Patton-Coleman also excelled in the classroom, earning all-academic Pac-10 accolades on three occasions. Patton-Coleman graduated in 1999 with a bachelor of arts degree in English and a minor in speech communications. Beyond college, she continued to play beach volleyball and earned her "AAA" rating in 2003. In 2021, she earned a master's in strategic communication from Arkansas State.

As a freshman in high school, Patton-Coleman was one of six setters nationally to make the USA Junior Olympic training team in Colorado Springs, CO. She also played club volleyball for Griffin VBC in Stanford, CA, and earned a bronze medal in the USA Junior Olympics in 1993.

 

Patton Year-by-Year As Head Coach
Year	School	Div.	Overall Record	Conference Record
2008	San Francisco State	II	13-16	6-14
2009	San Francisco State	II	20-11	13-9
2010	San Francisco State	II	14-13	11-11
2011	San Francisco State	II	15-12	11-11
2012	San Francisco State	II	21-9	16-6
2013	UC Riverside	I	2-26	1-15
2014	UC Riverside	I	2-26	0-16
2015	UC Riverside	I	10-19	5-11
2016	UC Riverside	I	8-20	3-13
2017	UC Riverside	I	10-18	2-14
2018	UC Riverside	I	9-19	4-12
2019	UC Riverside	I	6-22	2-14
2020	UC Riverside	I	0-0	0-0
x
Patton's Career Coaching Record
	At San Francisco State	83-61 (.576)
	At UC Riverside	47-150 (.238)
x	Total	120-211 (.362)