Athletic Insider Interview Series: Hunter Drews
Coach Hunter Drews not only had success as a player, but has led the Geneseo volleyball team to over half a dozen postseason appearances (Photo courtesy of geneseoknights.com).
SUNY Geneseo’s women’s volleyball coach Hunter Drews doesn’t remember a time when the sport wasn’t in her life. Whether it be attending games and practices with her mom, playing the sport herself, or coaching, volleyball has always been a staple in Coach Drews’ life.
Drews was surrounded by volleyball from a very young age with her mother, Dani Drews, SUNY Geneseo’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation, coaching at SUNY Oswego from 1991-2005. Raised in Clifton Park, NY, Drews attended Shenendehowa High School where she earned All-New York State honors after captaining her team to a New York State Section II title. Drews then attended Trinity College where she started every match for the Bantams during her time there. She ended her playing career by finishing second on the team in kills, kills per set, and service aces, while also ending in third in digs, and fourth in digs per set. Her accolades and accomplishments don’t stop there as she was a three-time New England Small College Athletic Conference All-Academic Team honoree.
The SUNY Geneseo women’s volleyball team has been dominant since Drews took the head coaching reins in 2017, leading the Knights to the postseason in each of her full seasons at the helm. In her first season as head coach, Geneseo finished with a 23-11 record, the highest win total since 2004, and swept Cortland in their first home playoff match since 1996. The success has continued as Coach Drews has coached All-Americans, All-American honorable mentions, First Team All-Regional players, SUNYAC Player of the Year (Defensive and Offensive) winners, as well as SUNYAC Rookie of the Year honorees.
While speaking of her career, Drews stated “There is always learning to be done in how to play the game better, in how to coach the game better, and teach the game better… but so much of my learning comes from my athletes.” She knows how different each player’s journey is within the sport of volleyball and being a student-athlete, so each year she learns new ways to approach communication and expectations while at the same time weaning out the things that aren’t so efficient.
Coach Drews’ vast experience has also taught her to “learn to be okay with failure… and [that] coaches are human [that] fail right alongside [their] athletes.” At the same time, Drews knows how important team relationships are on and off the court, stating “we do a lot of team dinners… talking about whatever comes up… and [building] good communication skills that I learn right alongside my athletes.” This type of mindset has been at the foundation of Coach Drews and the Knights' success since 2017 and continues to be something that Drews instills in each of her players.
The SUNY Geneseo women’s volleyball program is still searching for its first conference championship, and shifting to the Empire 8 has only motivated the team to reach that goal even more. Coach Drews is confident that her team has the drive and determination to finally bring home a conference championship title at the end of the fall 2024 season.