University of Illinois Springfield Athletics

• In his sixth season as the head coach at UIS in 2020
• Led the Prairie Stars to the 2018 GLVC regular season championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament, and was named the 2018 GLVC Coach of the Year
• Has recorded a record of 84-77 prior to 2020, and has the best winning percentage in program history

Trey Salinas in in his sixth season as the head coach of the University of Illinois Springfield volleyball program in 2020.
 
Salinas has a record of 84-77 since coming to UIS, and is the school’s most successful volleyball coach since the move to the NCAA level. The last three seasons, in which Salinas has led UIS to a 66-33 overall record, and a 35-16 GLVC mark, is the best stretch in program history. In that time, UIS has won 11 all-GLVC honors, four all-region awards, and two All-American accolades.

UIS lost two of the top players in program history entering the 2019 season, but still had a winning record with a 19-14 mark. The Prairie Stars went 8-7 in conference action, and advanced to the conference tournament for the third straight year.
 
UIS had another top-10 blocking team in NCAA Division II, ranking eighth with 2.52 blocks a game. They also were fourth in the league in digs average and third in opponent hitting percentage. Four players earned all-GLVC honors, and the Prairie Stars won one GLVC Player of the Week award.
 
Salinas and UIS set numerous program-firsts in 2018, including winning a share of the GLVC Regular Season Championship and earning a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. UIS set program records with 25 wins and 15 conference victories. The Prairie Stars won 13 straight during the season, and a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Bellarmine on the final day of the regular season helped the team win its conference crown. UIS advanced to the GLVC Tournament Semifinals after another win over Bellarmine in the first round of that event.
 
UIS was one of the nation’s top blocking teams, ranking third in NCAA Division II with 2.89 blocks a set, and were third in the GLVC by holding opponents to a .158 hitting percentage. Offensively, UIS was second in the GLVC and 28^th nationally with a .239 hitting percentage.
 
Alyssa Hasler was named a third-team All-American and Alli Splitt earned honorable mention All-American honors after the season, the first NCAA Division II All-Americans in program history. Both players also earned all-region honors, and were one of five players who earned all-GLVC honors, including four first-team honorees. UIS won five GLVC Player of the Week awards in 2018, and Salinas was named the 2018 GLVC Coach of the Year.
 
Salinas and the Prairie Stars had their breakthrough season in 2017. UIS doubled its win total from the previous year, and had a 22-11 overall record and a 12-6 GLVC mark. UIS earned its first appearance in the GLVC Tournament, and advanced to the semifinal round with a 3-2 victory over Bellarmine in the first round.
 
Under Salinas’ direction, UIS ranked tenth in NCAA Division II with 2.48 blocks per set. The Prairie Stars were also in the top-50 in assists, hitting percentage, kills, and opponent hitting percentage. The team was regional ranked for the first time, and just missed one of the final spots in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
Salinas coached the first two all-GLVC performers in program history as Hasler was a first-team selection, and Taylor Bauer earned second-team honors. Hasler also had another first in program history when she was named to the All-Midwest Region team as an honorable mention pick.
 
In his second season in 2016, UIS had an 11-20 overall record and a 4-14 GLVC mark. The 11 wins were at the time tied for the most in program history for its NCAA era. The Prairie Stars made big leaps statistically that season, including improving their hitting percentage by 0.050 points and holding opponents to a 0.035 lower hitting percentage. UIS ranked in the top-50 in the nation that season with 2.17 blocks a set.
 
In 2015, Salinas led UIS to a 7-24 overall record and a 4-14 GLVC record in his first year at the school. The Prairie Stars improved as the year went along, and the team won the final two matches of the season, including the program’s first-ever win over Southern Indiana.
 
Off the court, UIS student-athletes have also experienced unprecedented success under Salinas. The Prairie Stars have had a team GPA above 3.50 in each of the last four seasons, and his players have earned 60 GLVC Individual Academic All-Conference honors. UIS has earned the AVCA Team Academic Award in each of his five seasons.
 
Salinas’ teams have also made an impact in the community, including winning the athletic department’s Community Outreach Champions Award in 2017-18 with over 400 hours of community service.
 
Prior to coming to UIS, Salinas was an assistant coach at two successful NCAA Division II programs. From 2012-2014, he was an assistant for both the men’s and women’s volleyball programs at Belmont Abbey College. He helped the women’s team win back-to-back Conference Carolina Championships, and earned two straight national tournament berths. The Crusaders went 69-26 while Salinas was there.
 
Salinas trained two conference Freshman of the Year and two conference Players of the Year. In total, nine women earned all-conference honors and two were all-region selections. As the offensive coordinator, Salinas helped the team top Conference Carolinas in kills, kills per set, points per set, and assists per set in both 2012 and 2013.
 
In 2011, Salinas was the assistant coach at Metropolitan State University of Denver. That season, Metro State went 24-7 and was ranked as high as seventh in NCAA Division II. He coached four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-League players, as well as the 2010 RMAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.

Salinas also coached for the USA Volleyball Youth National Team in Colorado. He was an assistant coach for the select A2 program, and helped the team finish in the top five in two tournaments.

Prior to moving to the collegiate level, Salinas served as the head coach for the men's and women's programs at Bishop Machebuef High School. He held a 64-11 cumulative record over the course of three seasons, and led his teams to three league championships, three area championships, an elite eight appearance, a final four appearance, and a Colorado state championship.

Before pursuing a career in coaching, Salinas was a setter at Johnson & Wales University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Operations Management. Salinas also has professional experience after playing in Argentina and Spain for two different leagues.


Salinas Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record

 

Year	Overall	Conference	Place
2015	7-24	4-14	t-12th
2016	11-20	4-14	13th
2017	22-11	12-6	t-5th	GLVC Tournament Semifinals
2018	25-8	15-3	t-1st	GLVC Tournament Semifinals, NCAA Tournament
2019	19-14	8-7	t-7th	GLVC Tournament
Overall	84-77	43-44