Nancy Hoeke to be Inducted Into SD Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame

Nancy Hoeke, longtime head volleyball coach at Milbank High School, will be inducted into the South Dakota Volleyball Coaches Association (SDVBCA) Hall of Fame. Hoeke, who accrued 449 wins during her career, will be honored by the Hall of Fame at a ceremony on November 21. The event is scheduled to coincide with the 2026 South Dakota High School State Volleyball Tournament.

Hoeke’s career spanned over 30 years, including her 25 years at Milbank. During that time she claimed 48-straight wins from 2004 to 2005 and 38-straight wins from 2006 to 2007. She and her team also had a streak of  seven-straight state tourney appearances from 2003 to 2009. Milbank won the championship title in 2004 and again in 2006. 

Hoeke began coaching volleyball at Northern State University after she had played volleyball for the Wolves for four years. Her first offer to coach high school volleyball was as an assistant coach at Aberdeen Roncalli – the cross-town rival of her high school alma mater Aberdeen Central. In 1992, after a year and a half at Roncalli, she relocated to Milbank.

“As soon as I moved to Milbank, I made my way to the gym at the City Aud and volunteered to help during volleyball season,” Hoeke recalls in an earlier interview with The Valley Express. “I then became the C team coach until Vaughn Johnson retired from the assistant coaching position, and I was hired to replace her.” When Brad Olson left his position as the varsity head coach at MHS, Hoeke took over the helm. Her first year as head coach for Milbank was the 2001-2002 season. 

Hoeke was selected as the South Dakota Volleyball Coach of the Year twice – in 2004 and 2006. If the goal of coaching is to foster athletes, then she reached that goal by guiding and nurturing hundreds of student athletes. She also shepherded a dozen athletes who received South Dakota All-State Volleyball honors.

MHS Volleyball All-State Honor Winners**
2001-2002 – Jessica Maass – First team
2002- 2003 – Abby Johnson and Becky Upton –Honorable Mention
2003-2004 – Abby Johnson – Second Team
2004-2005 – Steph Nygard  – First Team and Becky Gomer -Honorable Mention 
2005-2006 – Becky Gomer – First Team and Kelsey Paulson – Second Team
2006-2007 – Kelsey Paulson and Amber Wollschlager – First Team
2007-2008 – Amber Wollschlager – First Team – Sami Nygard – Second Team
2008-2009 – Leah Anderson and Sami Nygard – First Team
2009-2010 – Sami Nygard and Megan Nedved – First Team
2011-2012 – Kendra Snaza – Honorable Mention
2012-2013 – Kendra Snaza – Second Team
2015- 2016 – Caryssa Mielitz – Honorable Mention
2016 – 2017 – Caryssa Mielitz – Second Team

**For the purpose of completeness: Jenny Aas (92); Tara DeBoer, Jaime Pauli, and Renee Rediburn (96); and Lacey Hermans (98) also earned all-state volleyball honors while at MHS, but before Hoeke became the head coach.

Several of Hoeke’s players received other awards. Stephanie Nygard (2004) Kelsey Paulson (2006), and Amber Wollschlager (2007) were each named Miss Volleyball from amongst all of South Dakota’s Class A players in their senior season. 

Milbank’s participation in South Dakota’s state volleyball tournaments beginning in 1982: 2001 “A”; 2003 “A” Consolation Champion; 2004 “A” Champion; 2005 “A” Third; 2006 “A” Champion; 2007 “A” Runner-Up; 2008 “A” Consolation Champion; 2009 “A” Runner-up; 2015 “A”; 2016 “A”.

Hoeke, who also served as the executive secretary for the South Dakota Volleyball Coaches Association, announced she would be stepping down from the position of head volleyball coach at the Milbank School Board meeting on December 8, 2025. Her retirement from volleyball became effective May 19. However, she plans to continue as the head coach of the Lady Bulldogs softball team.