GRINNELL, Iowa - Erin Labasan '11, who played volleyball and softball at Grinnell College and later coached here, has returned to her alma mater.
 
Labasan has come back to Grinnell as an assistant coach for Eric Ragan's '12 volleyball program after serving as assistant coach at Davidson College for a year. Prior to that, she was an assistant coach at Smith College and later interim co-head coach.
 
Labasan was an assistant coach and head recruiting coordinator at Grinnell from 2014-16. She graduated from Grinnell in 2011 with a degree in psychology and played for the Pioneers from 2007-10. Labasan is listed in the Pioneers' record book for digs in a three-set match (ranks eighth with 28), career assists (ninth with 782) and career digs (ninth with 1,059). 
 
After graduating from Grinnell, Labasan spent two years in South Korea as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, where she also served as women's coach for a co-ed ultimate Frisbee team that garnered two league championships.  While spending a year in Seattle, Labasan served as an assistant coach for Relentless Pursuit Volleyball Club's 18 Nationals team, responsible for defensive specialists, player conditioning and development and statistics tracking.  
 
Ragan is excited to have Labasan back with the program. "Our team identified Erin as someone with the coaching experiences, volleyball knowledge and work ethic that will add to our program and promote our team culture from day one," he said. "Erin will be an effective mentor for the women of GCVB on and off the court and I am excited to add someone to our coaching staff who will help us continue to grow our program. It's obvious that the Grinnell College community and being a Grinnellian is special to Erin and we're pleased to bring one of our own back home."