July Featured Staff Spotlight: Kellan Hollingsworth, Head Volleyball Coach
Every Monday through Thursday for the month of July, Chowan Athletics will spotlight select student-athletes and coaches in a series called Featured Hawks. This series highlights Hawks who exemplify excellence in the classroom, in competition, and within the Chowan community. Student-athletes were selected based on their academic achievement, athletic performance, leadership, character, and overall standing with the university. Coaches have the opportunity to share their coaching journey, discuss their programs, and provide insight about their vision for the future.
Fans will learn more about the individual experiences and stories of our student-athletes and coaches at Chowan. Beginning in August, Fridays will transition to Feature Fridays, continuing the spotlight series by highlighting one individual throughout the school year each week.
If you would like to be a part of the Featured Hawks as a current or former student-athlete or staff member, email gocuhawks@chowan.edu today!
Catch the entire podcast on the Hawks Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cuhawksathletics
July 17th, 2026
Today's Featured Hawk highlights Chowan's head volleyball coach, Kellan Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth just completed his second season as the Hawks head coach and will be heading into his third season at the helm. During the 2025 season, Hollingsworth led the Hawks to three more conference wins and two more overall wins than the previous season, with four victories coming at home. As the program continued to grow under his leadership, Hollingsworth remained committed to building the roster and establishing a strong foundation for the future of Chowan volleyball. Senior Diana Rodriguez became Chowan's all-time digs leader after recording her 1,838th career dig in a 3-0 home victory over UNC Pembroke. At the conclusion of the season, the Tijuana, Mexico native was named Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year. Off the court, the Hawks earned the highest GPA among all Chowan women's teams, finishing with a combined 3.52 team GPA. Serving as a testament to the culture and performance standards Hollingsworth has worked to continue to grow. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native has a broad background in volleyball, playing collegiately at the University of Mount Olive, coaching both boys and girls club levels and serving as an assistant coach at the NCAA D1 level.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your volleyball background.
I've been playing volleyball my whole life. I actually played college volleyball at the University of Mount Olive. I am very familiar with Conference Carolinas and so that made for an easy transition here. I was living in Virginia Beach, which is where I am from, coaching at the club level and serving as an assistant coach at a local university. The job opened here and the timing couldn't have been better.
How is the club scene affecting the collegiate volleyball world?
I've been coaching club volleyball for about 10 years in Virginia Beach and Tidewater area clubs. I would say that club volleyball has become the biggest avenue for collegiate recruiting. Many college coaches have a home base in clubs, and that makes it easy to be a part of these club tournaments all over the country. Volleyball is one of the largest women's programs in the country right now and it's growing at a very high rate, partly because of the growth at the club level.
This year's volleyball program will feature two teams. Tell us a little bit about that.
Yes, this year we are going to have two separate teams. We are fortunate enough to have a large facility so both teams can be in the gym at the same time, same coaching program, same coaching staff, and the same kind of training. My hope is to build the developmental program into players that can contribute to the varsity program. We are excited for what the season can bring to both teams.
What is special about Chowan in your opinion?
Chowan's campus is like being on a Hallmark movie set. We have a gorgeous campus. On top of it's beauty, Chowan has some of the nicest people you will ever meet. From everyone you meet and talk to here on campus, Chowan makes everyone feel welcome. It is a home-away-from-home. Stepping off campus and into town, what we lack in commercialism, we make up for with so many family run businesses. That creates a really neat local charm for everyone coming to Murfreesboro."
