BGSU Athletics announced two assistant coaches to join new head coach Alex DelPiombo as the next staff of Bowling Green State University Volleyball.
Chelsi Carter comes to BG after spending the last three years as an assistant coach with the Alabama Crimson Tide. She additionally spent time with Western Carolina, Nicholls State, South Dakota M&T and Alabama-Birmingham.
During her playing years she was an outstanding libero for Samford, playing under DelPiombo when she was an assistant, winning two Southern Conference championships, a Libero of the Year award and a tournament MVP. Carter has led two SoCon Libero of the Year winners as a coach as well as contributing greatly to Alabama’s success in both aces and digs the last three years.
“Presented the opportunity to be a part of a community rich in tradition is a privilege and one my husband and I did not take lightly,” said Carter. “I am extremely grateful to work alongside Alex and the BG Family. The people made this place an easy yes – the current players, the alumni, the staff, the athletic department and the community. It’s an honor to join a culture that values relationships, hard work, and authenticity. I’m excited to begin my time at Bowling Green to contribute to what’s been built and what’s to come.”
Alexa Wharton comes in as an assistant coach following her two-year head coaching job at Tiffin University. Her other stops included assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Memphis, assistant coach at Green Bay and Wisconsin-Whitewater after her setting days at Heidelberg.
The Tiffin, Ohio native coached two all-conference and two all-freshman selections in her time as a head coach, sporting a Freshman of the Year player as well. Her winning includes three Ohio Athletic Conference titles as a player, back-to-back conference tournament championships with Wisconsin-Whitewater, a Final Eight appearance in the 2017 NIVC, the best start in program history (11-0) with Memphis in 2019 and a winning overall and conference record through two seasons with Tiffin.
“BGVB is more than a program—it’s a standard of excellence that extends beyond competition, built on meaningful relationships, a relentless work ethic, and a commitment to personal and collective growth,” said Wharton.”I am eager to contribute to this culture, working alongside our talented student-athletes, dedicated staff, and the passionate Falcon community. Together, we will continue to push the boundaries of what we can achieve.”
DelPiombo was promoted to the head coaching position from the associate position on Dec. 23, 2024, a few hours after previous head coach Danijela Tomic took a job at Cincinnati. Tomic took BG associate coach and director of operations, Alison Cooke and Sean Drexl, with her to the Bearcats ahead of the 2025 season.
The regime change in BGVB comes on the heels of a historic National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) run for Tomic’s Falcons, beating Binghamton, Wright State (broadcast), DePaul (broadcast) and St. Johns before falling in five sets to Arizona (broadcast) on their home court in Tucson. It marked the longest Bowling Green has ever played into the month of December and the second most games they have won in a postseason tournament.
DelPiombo inherits the team coming off a 25-10 overall record and 16-2 conference record, winning the 2024 MAC regular season championship in the first year of division-less MAC play.
