GRAND FORKS, N.D. - University of North Dakota Head Coach Jeremiah Tiffin announced the addition of Steve Rindfleisch to the Fighting Hawks coaching staff on Tuesday. Rindfleisch, who coached the past five seasons at Valley City State University, completes the UND staff alongside Tiffin, Assistant Coach Erin Green, and Director of Operations Ashley Laidley.

"When I began the search for an Assistant Coach, I wanted someone that had ties to the area and had experienced success at their previous stop, and Steve has both of those qualities," said Tiffin. "He's had previous success as a coach and as a Division I volleyball player, and he has a young family, so I know he'll be able to relate to our players and with members of our community on campus and Grand Forks."

Rindfleisch began his coaching career in 2014 as the Vikings No. 1 assistant. Working alongside Head Coach Adam Longmore, Rindfleisch helped VCSU finish .500 or better in the last three seasons. The program had not previously finished with an even record since 2006.

Valley City also reached the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Volleyball Tournament Semifinals in three of his five years with the program. This past season, he was named the NSAA's Assistant Coach of the Year, as well as the North Central Region's Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

The San Diego, Calif., native helped mentor Clarissa Olson, who finished her career as a two-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and three-time AVCA All-Region honoree. Along with six all-conference awards in the last five seasons, the Vikings also collected hardware academically as 15 student-athletes earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete Awards.

Rindfleisch played volleyball collegiately at Brigham Young University as a right side hitter and setter. He was a member of the Cougars 2013 squad that earned an NCAA Tournament bid, defeating Penn State in the semifinals before falling to UC Irvine in the national championship.

He joins a North Dakota program that finished 14-18 overall and qualified for The Summit League Tournament last season. Tiffin, who was named Head Coach on May 29, will begin his first season with the Fighting Hawks in 2019. Green will begin her eighth season on staff at UND while Laidley begins her second year.

The Fighting Hawks will open the regular season on Aug. 30 at the University of New Orleans Tournament, and play their first home matches Sept. 19-20 at the UND Classic at The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Season tickets are available for purchase online at FightingHawks.com/Tickets or through the Ralph Engelstad Arena Ticket Office for only $50. Call The REA Ticket Office at 701-777-4167 to purchase. Single game tickets will go on sale Aug. 1.

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