Bio

This is Hayley Kobza’s 10th year as Head Coach at MCC.

Last season, the Lady Indians topped the 20-win mark for the sixth time in the past seven years.

In 2024, MCC won the last-ever Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference with a 6-0 record. It was the sixth time in the past seven years the Lady Indians captured the NCCAC championship. Kobza’s teams won 39 of 42 matches in the conference in the final seven years of the NCCAC, which dissolved because of realignment. Kobza won the NCCAC Coach of the year six times including 2024.

Last season, MCC went 21-11 overall during the regular season but went 4-6 in Region IX to finish fourth in the standings. The post-season season ended with consecutive losses to Eastern Wyoming and Western Nebraska.

In her 10 years at McCook, Kobza’s career mark is 176-137 with a .562 winning percentage.

YEAR                   W-L    WINNING %
2016                    8-24         .250
2017                  20-19         .513
2018                  21-14         .600
2019                  25-12         .676
2021 (Spring)   17-12         .586
2021      (Fall)   20-18         .526
2022                  22-12         .647
2023                  22-13         .629
2024                  21-13         .618
TOTAL             176-137      .562 

FOUR MCC PLAYERS and Kobza earned post-season honors in 2024. Sophomores Cibeles Bothwell, Caylin Barnett and Rowan Tribelhorn were all named second-team all-Region IX south with Bothwell also recognized as the libero of the year. Sophomore Romina Martinez Castro was named to the all-NCCAC team along with Barnett and Tribelhorn and Kobza was named Coach of the Year.

Bothwell, Barnett, Triblehorn and Martinez along with Kayten Hagan (Kearney) will continue their volleyball careers at four-year programs.

• Bothwell (Spring, Texas), who was the Region IX libero of the year, signed with Benedictine College (NAIA) in Atchison, Kan.
• Barnett, a six-rotation player from Southwest High School, transferred to College of St. Mary, an NAIA school in Omaha.
• Tribelhorn (Yuma, Colo.) will play middle at Adams State University, an NCAA D2 school in Alamosa, Colo.
• Martinez (Cochabamba, Bolivia), will play outside hitter at NCAA-D2 East Stroudsburg University in Pennslyvania.
• Hagan, a setter (Kearney/Amherst High School), will have three years of eligibility left at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas (NCAA D2).

With these five players, there have now been 41 of Kobza’s former players who have moved on to four-year schools since 2018 and 44 overall. 

Academically, the team earned a 2025 designation from the NJCAA as an Academic Team of the Year with a 3.26 team grade point average. Six players received NJCAA all-academic team honors for GPAs higher than 3.60. Also four players were named to the Region IX all-academic team.

Kobza serves as Assistant Women’s Region IX Director for all women’s sports and she also serves as the chairperson for volleyball in the region’s south division and chairs the NJCAA Cheerleading committee.

She presented at the 2022 AVCA Convention in Omaha on the same platform as her podcast “Coaching, Caffeine and Comedy.”

For the past two summers, she joined Volunteer Assistant Dennis Troester in coaching high school players in the Nokaoi Volleyball Showcase in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Playing Career: Southwestern Oklahoma State University - Collegiate Volleyball Player

Family: Kobza and husband Clay have two children, Tripp and Leddy.