Dawn Barnes enters her third season on the Bluff as head coach of the Southern University women’s volleyball program.
In just her second season at the helm, Barnes led one of Southern’s most successful teams in more than two decades. The Lady Jaguars finished 16-17 overall and 9-7 in SWAC play while advancing to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship match for the first time since 2014. The 16 victories marked the program’s highest win total since 2002, while the nine conference wins were the most since 2019.
Southern’s resurgence was powered by standout performers Jordan Felix and Ariana Brown. Both earned Second Team All-SWAC honors, while Felix was named First Team All-Louisiana Setter and Brown collected Second Team All-Louisiana recognition at outside hitter.
Felix paced the SWAC with 887 assists, bringing her career total to 2,189. The New Orleans native recorded seven double-doubles during the season, including three matches with 40 or more assists. She posted double-digit assists in 31 of 33 matches and reached the 30-assist mark 13 times, highlighted by a career-high 45 assists against Alabama A&M on Senior Day. Over her career, Felix totaled 885 digs, 616 kills, 147 blocks, and 133 service aces.
Brown turned in a stellar junior campaign, leading the SWAC with 464 kills and 51 service aces. She recorded seven double-doubles and ranked second on the team with 240 digs. Brown registered double-digit kills in 25 matches, including each of the final 11 contests, and posted 11 matches with at least 15 kills, six of which featured 20 or more kills.
In her first season on the Bluff, Barnes guided the Lady Jaguars to their first double-digit win season since 2019 and helped the program return to the SWAC Tournament.
Barnes arrived at Southern after serving as head coach at Phoenix College during the 2023 season. She also coached Arizona Storm Elite VBC’s 15 Lightning squad, leading the team to a ninth-place regional finish and a bid to the USA Volleyball Nationals in Las Vegas in July 2024.
Prior to Southern, Barnes served as head coach at South Carolina State University and Malcolm X College.
Barnes also spent three seasons on staff at Chicago State University, where she served as interim head coach in 2014 and guided the Cougars to the program’s first home tournament title in Division I history while producing 10 Academic All-WAC selections.
Before her time at Chicago State, Barnes worked as a volunteer assistant coach at George Mason University in 2012, assisting with coaching and match preparation. She previously served two seasons as head coach at Howard University, where she coached three All-MEAC selections, five All-Academic honorees, and developed the Howard Volleyball Camps.
Barnes also served as a volunteer assistant coach at University of Pittsburgh in 2009, helping the Panthers compile a 20-11 overall record and a school-record 12 BIG EAST victories. During her tenure, Pittsburgh produced the BIG EAST Player of the Year, Libero of the Year, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Her responsibilities included coordinating technical practices and match preparation. Barnes’ collegiate coaching experience also includes stops at Vassar College, Eastern Kentucky University, and Augustana College.
In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Barnes remains active with USA High Performance Developmental Camps and Clinics as well as Exact Sports Summer Camps. She has also worked camps at College of Charleston, Purdue University, Butler University, and University of Illinois.
Barnes has extensive club volleyball experience, including three seasons with Michio Chicago Volleyball Academy. She also served as director of recruiting for the NVVA Club in Sterling, Virginia, and worked with the Metro American, Select, and Pittsburgh Elite volleyball clubs. Barnes is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
In May 2023, Barnes graduated from the WeCOACH Academy and received the organization’s prestigious WCA Class #51 Impact Award.
“Thank you all so much for this great honor in becoming Southern University’s next head volleyball coach,” Barnes said. “Thank you to Director of Athletics Roman Banks for entrusting me to lead the program into the future. I look forward to building championship programs and developing champion athletes.”
Off the court, Barnes is also a proud dog owner to Bella.
