Arizona volleyball’s successful season may be over, but that doesn’t mean the news out of the program has ceased. This week was especially busy. Head coach Rita Stubbs now has a complete staff, another player is leaving the Wildcats, and Jordan Wilson continues to get postseason love.
Arizona has a full staff at last
Stubbs just made a hire and it looks like a home run. The Wildcats now have a setting coach with some pretty strong court cred.
Jhenna Gabriel was announced as the program’s third assistant coach on Thursday morning,
joining current assistants Ryan Windisch and Simone Asque-Favia. Windisch will be entering his fourth year on staff next season. Asque-Favia will be in her second.
Gabriel has an impressive resume as a player and a young coach. She has spent the last three years as a technical coordinator and assistant coach at Missouri. The Tigers went to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and 2024 when Gabriel was the technical coordinator. She was promoted to assistant coach in 2025 when the team won 17 matches but did not make the tourney.
Gabriel’s resume as a player includes three years at Texas (2018-21), where she earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations. On the court, she led her team to the 2020 national title game, which was held in the spring of 2021. She was named AVCA All-America third team and Big 12 Setter of the Year for her efforts. In the fall of 2021, she led the Longhorns back to the Elite Eight.
Gabriel played her COVID year at UNLV under current Missouri head coach Dawn Sullivan, who was hired at both UNLV and Missouri by current Arizona Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois. She led the Rebels to a 27-5 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance a year after the program won the NIVC. She was named Mountain West Newcomer of the Year and earned a master’s in sports management.
Gabriel has played professionally for played professionally for Leonas de Ponce in Puerto Rico and the San Diego Mojo of Major League Volleyball/Pro Volleyball Federation.
“I am excited to welcome Jhenna to Arizona to round out our coaching staff,” Stubbs was quoted in the program’s press release. “She is a true competitor in every sense of the word and will make our program better with her experience of playing at a very high level. Jhenna began her coaching career at a high level and she will bring a wealth of knowledge about the game and a good heart to elevate our program and player development.”
The Wildcats have been one coach short for the past two seasons. Both occurred due to a coach leaving for other positions.
The first time, the university was under a hiring freeze and Stubbs was told she could not replace a coach who left despite the position already being advertised on the university’s website. In the meantime, football was putting together its staff of over 50 employees. By the time she got approval to make a hire, it was mere weeks before the season started. She opted to wait, since it was not the traditional hiring season and it would be difficult to integrate a new coach so quickly anyway.
The second time, assistant coach Steven Duhoux returned to men’s volleyball, taking a position with the men’s program at Ohio State. It was in the spring and Stubbs didn’t feel like it was the best time to hire. Windisch took on training the setters while also handling the littles and welcoming a new baby. He was obviously up to the task when Arizona’s success is taken into consideration.
More honors for Jordan
Jordan Wilson was central to the success Arizona had this year. The outside hitter continues to gain accolades for the effort.
Wilson was named AVCA All-Region First Team for the Pacific Region on Tuesday. It’s her second straight season receiving regional honors but her debut as a first-teamer. Last year she was honorable mention. This year’s honor is added to her All-Big 12 First Team honor.
Wilson had 499 kills, 269 digs, 26 aces, 10 assists, 45.0 total blocks, and 550.5 points in 108 sets this season. She hit .239 on 1,246 swings. The outside hitter took over 9th place in total kills in a season, surpassing Kendra Dahlke’s 496 in 2016. She also grabbed 10th in kills per set in a season with 4.62, knocking out Barb Bell’s 1994 season (4.51 k/s).
In her three years as a Wildcat, Wilson had 1,191 kills, 593 digs, 55 aces, 27 assists, and 128 total blocks in 310 sets over 86 matches. When her freshman season at USC is included, she had 1,590 career kills.
Her 3.84 kills per set (minimum of 200 sets played) over her Arizona career place her fifth in Wildcat history. That surpassed the 3.82 of Tiffany Owens (2007-10).
Wilson was drafted into Major League Volleyball last month.
Good luck, Giorgia!
Defensive specialist Giorgia Mandotti came over from Italy three years ago to join Stubbs’ first team. At the time, she said she was attracted by the American system that would allow her to get her degree while playing volleyball. She made good use of that advantage, earning her bachelor’s degree in three years.
Mandotti will graduate in May, but she has one more year of eligibility left. On senior day, she expressed the desire to play that year at Arizona, if possible. With Arizona’s needs, it apparently won’t be, as Mandotti posted a “Thank you, Arizona” post on social media, indicating that she will pursue her goals elsewhere next year.
Portal needs
It would be difficult for Arizona to bring Mandotti back next season simply because it has so many needs elsewhere. Stubbs will need to dive into the portal with special vigor.
The NCAA allows 18 players on a Division I roster of a Power 4 program or any other program that opted into the House settlement. Arizona offers 14.75 scholarships to be spread to as many as 18.
Stubbs has said her ideal roster is six pins, four middle blockers, two or three setters, and four or five littles. The program has posted an updated 2026 roster. Right now, its returning players include four pins, four middles, one setter, and three littles. It is adding one pin, one middle, and one little in its freshman class. That means an ideal roster would require one more pin and two setters.
Arizona’s biggest need is a starting setter. With both Scoggins and Ana Heath gone, only Chloe Giehtbrock is left on the roster. Even if Giehtbrock is ready to start on a Power 4 team, the Wildcats must have other options in case of injury or even just to practice properly.
Hopefully the addition of Gabriel to the staff is attractive to some of the setters who are already available. The initial days of this year’s portal saw numerous accomplished setters from successful programs jump in. The fact that so many entered their names despite the personal playing time and team success could be a concern for the Wildcats, though. It likely suggests a desire to find a school that offers revenue sharing for volleyball.
Since Arizona is not one of those schools, Stubbs may have to reach out to setters whose motivations were going from mid-majors to power conferences. Fortunately, there are several who fit that category and possess a great deal of talent, as well.
As for the middle glut versus the dearth of pins, it’s possible that Stubbs could shift Sydnie Vanek back to the pineeeeeeee. Vanek played both the left and right sides during her first two years at Arizona.
Even if Vanek is moved, it still might be advisable to look for one high-level pin in the portal if there’s any question about replacing the productivity of Wilson. After all, Wilson had a season that finished in the top 10 of several categories in the Wildcats’ record book. With the loss of Heath, Arizona could use an opposite that has the ability to get really hot on offense.
Going with just four littles is probably advisable for Arizona if Stubbs wants everyone to be happy, which explains why Mandotti is moving on. Ginder has started both seasons and is a former AVCA All-America honorable mention. Incoming libero Gigi Whann matches that honor and was the MVP of her 15A District in Texas. Getting a best player award is difficult for liberos, so it suggests really great things for Whann.
Freshman defensive specialist Brookelyn Hatton was good in high school, so she’s another option in the back row. Depending on development, Shea Davis may be able to contribute in serve rotation. Regardless, Arizona likely has two littles who will be fighting for starting libero next year with the other becoming the top defensive specialist.
