Olivet College athletic department announces three new hires

OLIVET, Mich. – Olivet College Director of Athletics Haley Diringer has announced three new staff members. Jenessa Hicks is the new head women's volleyball coach and assistant athletic director for enrollment strategies. Gabriel Murley has been hired as an assistant athletic director. Brandon Ralston takes over as head men's and women's tennis coach.

"I am thrilled to have Jenessa, Gabe and Brandon joining our Comet athletic department," said Diringer. "Jenessa is already very familiar with Olivet and brings great volleyball knowledge to our department. I look forward to the future of our department with the knowledge and experience Gabe brings us from his experience at the high school level. And lastly, I am excited to see our tennis programs grow and build under Brandon's leadership."

Hicks makes the transition to the athletic department after serving as the associate director of admissions for the last four years. Prior to joining Olivet's staff, she worked for the Target Corporation for 10.5 years, serving as a senior team lead for seven years. Through her many roles with Target, Hicks developed extensive sales, customer service and leadership skills. She also spent time as the head junior varsity volleyball coach for three years, one year at Olivet High School and two years at Marshall High School. After Hicks was done with coaching, she helped with high school tryouts and camps.

Hicks graduated from Olivet College in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in special education and minors in English and physical education. She was a four-year letter winner and starting setter on the women's volleyball team. Hicks still holds the Olivet all-time set assists record with 2,756 from 2007-10. She also has two of the top seven single-season marks, including the second-most with 1,027 set assists in 2007.

"I am extremely grateful and excited to be back on the court with Olivet College volleyball," said Hicks. "My years as a student at Olivet helped shaped me into the person I am today. I hope I can be a positive role model and coach. I want to see my players succeed not only on the court but also in the classroom and in life. I am excited to share my love for the game with the student-athletes and turn them into the best players they can be mentally and physically. I had some amazing coaches over the years who taught me a lot and I hope to leave the same impact on my teams here at Olivet."

Murley joins the Comet athletic staff after serving various roles at Lansing Everett High School since September 2017. Most recently, he was the athletic director during the 2021-22 academic year. Prior to that, Murley was an assistant athletic director from February 2018 to June 2020, Spanish teacher from September 2017 to January 2019 and girls' varsity volleyball coach from July 2016 to June 2020. He also served as the varsity volleyball coach at Webberville Community Schools for one year and Britton-Deerfield Schools for two seasons.

Murley earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish language and literature from Siena Heights in 2014. He was a four-year player on the men's volleyball team for the Saints, serving as a team captain in 2014.

"I am very excited to join the Comet athletic department as an assistant athletic director," said Murley. "The family atmosphere at Olivet was apparent as soon as I got on campus and I felt at home immediately. I am looking forward to working with the coaching staff and other athletic administrators to provide a first-class small college experience for the student-athletes."

Ralston comes to Olivet after serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Alma College during the 2021-22 season. One of his main duties for the Scots was helping at practices and matches. At the same time, Ralston was an assistant tennis coach at Saint Johns High School.

A native of Cadillac, Ralston earned a bachelor's degree from Alma in 2021. He played four years of tennis and was a three-year captain for the Scots. In addition, Ralston earned 2021 All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Second Team honors. At Cadillac High School, he was a member of the varsity tennis team for three years and baseball team for two seasons. Ralston received the Rantha Reddy award which recognizes tennis players excelling in leadership and academics.

"I am extremely excited to get to work as the head men's and women's tennis coach here at Olivet," said Ralston. "Olivet tennis is on the brink of ascending into a much higher level of competition. The idea of getting to guide these young men and women through such a fun time for the program is quite the honor. The MIAA is an extremely difficult conference for tennis. We will not be satisfied joining the middle of the pack. I look forward to competing here for years to come and am extremely grateful to the athletic department for giving me this opportunity."