Bio

Mekenna Clugston is entering her second season as the Avila men’s volleyball head coach in 2026-26 and her third season with Avila Athletics. Clugston was named the inaugural head coach of Avila men's volleyball in April 2025 for the program’s first season in the spring of 2026. Clugston spent the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach for the Avila women's volleyball program.

In its first year as a growing program Avila men’s volleyball won three of its final five matches of the season, playing with a nearly all-freshman roster.

Clugston and her program laid the groundwork for a program in one of the fastest-growing sports in the NAIA in 2026, looking for build for the 2027 spring season.

Clugston played collegiately at the University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, Calif., and was a three-year member of the Firebirds women’s volleyball program. During her decorated career at Saint Katherine, Clugston was a two-time Champions of Character honoree and was a member of the California Pacific Conference champion team as a senior and played an integral role for the Firebird program that made the NAIA National Tournament as a senior. Additionally, Clugston coached three years of club volleyball for 951 Elite Volleyball Club while in college.

Clugston is one of the youngest men’s volleyball coaches in the country and one of a small number of female head coaches for a men’s program.