The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball program announced a new head coach. Director of Athletics Stephanie Helgeson announced the hiring of Kathleen (Hegg) Rustad to lead the Golden Eagle volleyball program.
Rustad is the sixth head coach in the Division II era and 12th overall, dating back to 1974.
Rustad enters the collegiate ranks after an extremely successful run coaching for Hawley High School. The former Win-E-Mac Patriot and North Dakota State Bison standout has led the Nuggets for the last seven seasons and has brought that program to back-to-back State Class AA Championships, including a 32-2 record this past fall. The Nuggets fell behind in the state championship two sets to none to Chatfield, before winning the final three sets to win their second-straight title. In her time at Hawley, Rustad took the Nuggets to three State appearances.
In her six seasons at the helm of the Nuggets, Rustad had two Class AA Coach of the Year honors and was an astounding 136-35 at the helm of Hawley. The most matches she lost in a year was 11 with Hawley. She also earned a pair of Section Coach of the Year honors.
Rustad led the Nuggets to their first-ever State appearance in 2021 in just her second year at the helm. That year, with her daughters Faith and Ingrid on the team, the Nuggets won third place at state, including a five-set upset win over Cannon Falls in the first round.
“We are thrilled to announce Kathleen as our next volleyball coach,” said director of athletics Stephanie Helgeson. “Kathleen brings a winning pedigree to the program and has won wherever she has been. She has great energy and enthusiasm and an understanding of volleyball and is knowledgeable of the region and state of Minnesota and we can’t wait for her to get started.”
Rustad played collegiately for the North Dakota State Bison and finished her Bison career with 2,216 assists and led the Bison to a 30-4 record as a senior. Kathleen was one of five sisters to play for the Bison from 1987-92 and 1998-01. During that stretch with the former Hegg sisters, the Bison won 85 percent of their matches and won a whopping eight North Central Conference titles.
Rustad is thrilled for the opportunity to lead the Golden Eagle volleyball program. “I’m super excited to start this new adventure and I am excited to get involved with the program,” mentioned Rustad. “I’m especially excited to get to know the team and be a part of building this family up together. Go Golden Eagles!”
Rustad and her husband, Bjarne, have two daughters, Faith and Ingrid. Faith ran cross country for the University of Sioux Falls and Ingrid is currently a freshman volleyball player at North Dakota State College of Science. She received her Bachelor of Arts in nursing from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and a Bachelor of Science in HPER from North Dakota State University.
