Former Auburn associate head coach Rachel Corbelli and Utah Director of Scouting and Player Personnel Whitney Bower have been appointed as assistant coaches for the Stanford women’s volleyball program. The announcement was made by Kevin Hambly, The Montag Family Director of Women’s Volleyball.
Corbelli will take over the Kimberly and Beverly Oden Assistant Coach title, replacing Alex Dunphy, who served from 2022 to 2025. Bower will fill the third assistant position previously held by Molly Lambillotte during the 2024-25 season.
“I’m thrilled to welcome two outstanding new members to our staff. While it’s difficult to say goodbye to Alex and Molly, I’m confident that we’ve assembled the strongest possible team to support and guide our talented young group,” said Hambly, who is entering his tenth season at Stanford in 2026.
Corbelli joins Stanford after working at Auburn since 2022 as an assistant/associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. She played a key role in Auburn’s successful 2022 season, which included a record start and led to only the second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Auburn finished with its most wins since 1998.
Prior to her time at Auburn, Corbelli coached at Austin Juniors Volleyball Club, where she also managed communications and recruiting efforts. Her family has a long history in volleyball; her parents John and Laurie Corbelli both won silver medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and coached together at Texas A&M for more than two decades. Her brother Russell is currently an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University.
Corbelli holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Texas San Antonio and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
“Rachel has excelled at Auburn, playing a pivotal role in the program’s ongoing progress,” said Hambly. “She is a driven, hard-working recruiter and an outstanding communicator and evaluator. Her experience as a backcourt coach makes her an ideal fit for developing our young team, particularly in terms of ball control and defense. Most importantly, Rachel is the perfect cultural and personnel fit for Stanford.”
Bower arrives after one season with Utah as Director of Scouting and Player Personnel. She was previously recognized as a three-time AVCA All-America setter while playing for BYU and has coaching experience as an assistant at College of Southern Idaho.
“Whitney is an accomplished setter with a deep passion for volleyball and for teaching the setting position,” said Hambly. “We have seen firsthand her competitive spirit and the positive energy she brings. I was especially eager to hire someone who could dedicate significant time to working with our young setters and help advance our offense. The more Whitney and I spoke, the more convinced I became that she was the ideal addition to our staff.”
Bower has also worked with Idaho Crush Volleyball Club in various coaching roles; she helped lead their 15s team to a national championship at USAV’s Junior Olympics in 2024.
During her collegiate career at BYU, Bower set several records including most assists in BYU’s rally-scoring era (4,583), most sets played all-time, second-most service aces, and third-most total digs. She received multiple honors such as West Coast Conference Player of the Year before BYU joined Big 12 Conference play.
In professional volleyball, Bower was drafted ninth overall by Atlanta Vibe ahead of their inaugural Professional Volleyball Federation season in 2024 where she contributed to Atlanta securing its first regular-season championship with a 19-5 record.
A native of Nampa, Idaho, Bower led Skyview High School to consecutive state championships as one of Idaho’s top prep setters. Three out of her six sisters also played collegiate volleyball.
Bower graduated from BYU in 2023 with a degree in exercise science.
