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Rockbridge County High School has hired Gabe Wagner, who brings coaching and playing experience from Southern Virginia University, as its new head girls volleyball coach. Rockbridge County Public School officially announced the hire in a media release on Wednesday.
Wagner replaces Kassidy Beagan, who stepped down after coaching the Wildcats for the last two years to spend more time with her family. During her time as head coach, Beagan, a 2016 RC graduate who played volleyball for RC, led the Wildcats to their sixth and seventh consecutive Valley District regular-season titles. Last year, the Wildcats went 27-2 overall and 12-0 in the district, ending the season with a 3-2 loss to Christiansburg in the Class 3 state quarterfinals. The loss followed 23 consecutive wins, the district tournament title and the Wildcats’ third Region 3C title in program history. The season-ending match was the Wildcats’ third state quarterfinal appearance in program history.
In addition to coaching the Wildcats, Wagner is currently an assistant men’s volleyball coach for the SVU men’s volleyball team. This past spring, under the direction of head coach Tom Peterson, SVU went 29-1 overall and 9-0 in the Continental Volleyball Conference, ending its season with a 3-2 loss to New York University in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals.
Wagner attended SVU and played volleyball there, graduating last year with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. Prior to SVU, Wagner played four years of varsity boys volleyball for Benjamin Franklin High School in Queen Creek, Ariz.
For the full story on this hire, please see our July 31 newspaper.
