SMSU Athletics

Mariah Van Asperen is in her second season as assistant volleyball coach at SMSU in 2025. She was named to the position on Jan. 19, 2024. During her first season she helped the Mustangs finish 23-6 overall and qualify for the NCAA tournament. 
 
Van Asperen is no stranger to SMSU having served as a graduate assistant for the program during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
 
Following her two-year stay at SMSU, Van Asperen moved to the University of Sioux Falls where she spent the 2021 season as an assistant coach. She most recently has served as the head softball coach at Vermillion High School (S.D.) in 2022 and has taught in both the Vermillion and Union Township (Ind.) school districts.
 
Van Asperen has also coached several seasons of club volleyball for the Kingsport, Southwest Minnesota and Pentagon programs.
 
Van Asperen a 2019 graduate of East Tennessee State University with a degree in elementary education. She was a member of the ETSU volleyball team for four seasons, appearing in 116 career matches, while recording 559 kills and 337 blocks. As a senior in 2018, McPartland led the team with 143 blocks and ranked fourth on the squad with 234 kills.
 
Mariah and husband, Nate, who is a graduate of SMSU and was a member of the SMSU football program, live in Marshall with daughter, Grace.