Hall of Fame
Juli Kartel, 2006 - In seven seasons at Western Illinois University, Juli Kartel won more than 100 matches, advanced to a pair of conference tournaments and coached numerous all-conference players on her way to becoming the most successful volleyball coach in Westerwinds history.
Inheriting a team that had just one winning season in the nine previous years, Kartel turned the program around with 112 victories from 1986-92. Fifteen individual records and nine team records still stand from her career. Kartel was instrumental in the success of the National Invitational Volleyball Tournament, which provided opportunities for Division I schools to compete in a postseason tournament, by serving on the board of directors and as chair of the selection committee.
A native of Burlington, Iowa, Kartel played collegiate volleyball at the University of Iowa and earned her bachelor’s degree in 1982. Her success on the court and in the classroom (she was named to the National Dean’s List) was transferred to her student-athletes as Diane Ellefritz was named a GTE Academic All-American three times under Kartel’s leadership. In 1986, along with receiving her master’s degree from Iowa, Kartel was listed among the year’s Outstanding Women of America.
“I made some wonderful friends and have many great memories of my years at WIU and as a Westerwinds coach,” Kartel said. “I enjoy returning to campus and Macomb a couple times each year to visit friends and watch athletic events.”
