Bio

The 2024 season is the ninth for Erin Luthy at the helm of the TU volleyball program. In her first eight years, Luthy has guided Taylor to a 159-109 mark overall and six finishes inside the top half of the Crossroads League.

Luthy opened her tenure at TU by leading the Trojans to a four-win improvement overall and a 13-5 clip in CL play for a third-place finish in 2016. Taylor went 8-2 on its home court in Luthy’s first season, became the first team in the NAIA to reach 1,200 all-time wins and was named as an AVCA All-Academic Team.

The success continued into the 2017 campaign, both on the court and in the classroom, as Taylor reached 20 wins for the first time in three years, led the NAIA with three CoSIDA Academic All-District awards and rated fifth in the NAIA in team grade-point average among volleyball programs.

In 2019, the squad surpassed 20 wins once again, while compiling three win streaks of at least four games. Taylor ended the regular season on fire, picking up four victories with a pair of sweeps.

After a shortened 2020 season, Luthy led the Trojans to a 27-win campaign in 2021, the highest mark for TU volleyball since 2011. To ignite the season, Taylor won 12 of its first 13 matches, en route to a 20-2 record bolstered by an 11-game win streak, producing the program’s first top-25 national ranking since 2012. Along the way, Taylor became just the second volleyball program in the NAIA to reach 1,300 all-time wins. Luthy’s team excelled off the court as well, leading all NAIA and NCAA volleyball programs with four CoSIDA Academic All-District awards and being named an AVCA Team Academic award recipient.

Recently, in 2022, Luthy led the Trojans to their first Crossroads League Regular Season Title since 2011 and the first Crossroads League Tournament Championship since 2010. Luthy’s team also posted 30-plus wins for the first time in over a decade, going a perfect 17-0 inside Odle Arena to extend its home winning streak to 27-consecutive matches. TU also reached its highest national rank since 2011, claiming the No. 11 spot in the nation. The Trojans went on to win a game in the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round, before three Trojans were dubbed NAIA All-Americans in a single season for the first time in program history.

Throughout her time with the Purple and Grey, Luthy has seen her squads collect 46 NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards, 23 CSC Academic All-District honors and five CSC Academic All-American nods.

On the court, Luthy has coached her student-athletes to 40 All-Crossroads League honors, including 16 First-Team All-CL awards, four CL Player-of-the-Year accolades and five NAIA All-American honors.

Luthy is no stranger to the TU volleyball program or the Upland community, having played volleyball at Taylor for Dr. Angie Fincannon from 2001 through 2004. Luthy helped Taylor to a 143-42 record over those four seasons, serving as a three-year starter and helping TU to the NAIA National Tournament in 2001. Other accomplishments include serving as a team captain and earning all-league honors as a senior in 2004, while also garnering a pair of NAIA Scholar-Athlete Award honors.

After completing her playing career for the Trojans, Luthy graduated from Taylor in 2005 with a degree in psychology and a minor in youth ministry, before later obtaining a master’s degree in counseling in 2010.

Luthy began her coaching career as an assistant club coach in 2003 and 2005, before taking over for one season as the head volleyball coach at Blackford High School for the 2011 campaign.

For three years, Luthy held the same position at Eastbrook High School, while also serving as a guidance counselor for the school during that time. In addition to her roles at EHS, Luthy has been the Eastbrook Volleyball Club Director since 2014.

Luthy and her husband, Chad, reside in Upland and are the parents of Jadyn, Malakai and Zander.