Bio

SMC’s head coach was a “triple threat” while a student at Niles High School, earning SMAC All-Conference honors in volleyball, basketball and softball.  Nate continued playing basketball and was captain of the volleyball team at Lake Michigan College, where she completed an associate degree. In 1997, she earned a certificate in medical transcription from Southwestern Michigan College and followed that in 2001 with a BA in Secondary English from Western Michigan University.

Nate teaches English at Niles High School and served as Varsity Volleyball Coach for ten years. During that time, her teams were some of the best in school history, winning three conference championships, two district championships and two regional championships, with two visits to the state quarterfinals. She was named Class B Coach of the Year for the State of Michigan by Volleyball Insider in 2017 and was the Region 10 Coach of the Year in both 2012 and 2017. In 2021, Nate’s Vikings finished with a record of 48-9, and she won Wolverine Conference Coach of the Year.

SMC Volleyball finished a memorable 2025 season with an impressive 29-9 record. The Roadrunners won the MCCAA Western Conference with an 11-1 mark, finished third in the entire MCCAA and qualified as the #2 seed in the Great Lakes District Tournament. SMC went 3-2 in the B bracket, finishing as runners-up to the #1 seed. Individual Roadrunners earned 16 conference and regional awards, including All-Freshman Team, All-Conference Honorable Mention, Second Team All-Conference, First Team All-Conference, All-MCCAA Team, All-Region Team, and Player of the Year. Nate herself was named MCCAA Western Conference Coach of the Year.  

In the offseason, Nate coaches the 17 Teal Elite team for the Dunes Volleyball Club of LaPorte, Indiana. She has also coached with Krush VBC and Southwest VBC, and has served as a YMCA basketball coach, Niles Nitro travel softball coach and MHSAA volleyball referee.