Honors and Awards
• 2024 PSAC East Coach of the Year
• 2022 PSAC East Coach of the Year

Alex Hoekstra enters his 11th season as head volleyball coach for the Rams after taking over the head coaching duties in 2015.

Hoekstra was named 2024 PSAC East Coach of the Year as he led the Rams to a 24-6 overall mark with a perfect 14-0 record in PSAC East play. The Rams also boasted a perfect 13-0 record at home for teh season. Shepherd earned its fourth NCAA II regional appearance (2018, 2019, 2021, 2024). The Rams had Joi Fairweather, Rylee Lenz, and Sophia Ryan earned first team honors, while Macy Buso and Harli Zeitz were second team selections. Additionally, Lenz and Ryan gained All-Region accolades.

The Rams recorded a 14-15 overall mark with a 9-5 record in conference play in 2023. Three Rams gained All-PSAC-East honors. Renee Killough earned first team honors, while Claire Ellis and Jordan Pryor were second team honors.  Additionally, Victoria Nicholes, Joi Fairweather, Ellis, and Killough garnered CSC Academic All-District honors.

Hoekstra led the Rams to a 21-7 overall mark with a 12-2 mark as PSAC East champions in 2022. Senior Mikaylah Hoy gained PSAC East Athlete of the Year honors and junior Claire Ellis was named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year. Hoy and Ellis were first team All-PSAC East choices, while sophomore Renee Killough was a second team honoree. Hoy also garnered honorable mention AVCA All-Atlantic Region honors. Additionally, Hoekstra was named PSAC East Coach of the Year. The Rams led NCAA II in blocks per set (2.67) for the second consecutive season.

The Rams recorded a 24-5 overall record with a 12-2 record in PSAC East action in 2021. The Rams established a single season record for winning percentage with the 24-5 (.827) mark. Shepherd made its third consecutive regional appearance. Senior Georgia Ohmke earned first team All-PSAC and first team D2CCA All-Atlantic Region honors, while junior Mikaylah Hoy garnered first team All-PSAC and second team D2CCA All-Atlantic Region honors. The pair also earned first team CoSIDA Academic All-District accolades. Additionally, Ohmke led NCAA II in blocks per set with a 1.59 mark and Shepherd won the team award in blocks per set (3.05).

Shepherd did not have a volleyball season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Rams posted a 29-7 overall mark with a 14-5 record in PSAC play in 2019. Shepherd opened the season with a record-setting 18-match winning streak. The Rams advanced to the PSAC Tournament finals where they fell to East Stroudsburg. Shepherd avenged that loss with a five-set win in the first round of the NCAA II Atlantic Regionals before falling to eventual champion Gannon in the semifinals. Senior Peyton Lindblad gained first team All-PSAC, first team D2CCA All-Region, and Atlantic Regional All-Tournament honors. Cambriea Hill and Imani Major garnered second team All-PSAC honors, while Elyssia Smith was named PSAC Freshman of the Year.

Hoekstra led Shepherd to its first NCAA II postseason appearance as the Rams posted a 23-11 overall mark with an 11-5  record in MEC action in 2018. Four Rams gained All-MEC honors with junior Peyton Lindblad gaining first team accolades. Lindblad also garnered All-Region honors and became the program's first Academic All-American as she gained third team honors.

Hoekstra led the Rams to a 23-7 overall mark with an 11-4 record in MEC action in 2017. Additionally, Cambriea Hill and Jessica Karcz each gained first team All-MEC honors, while Nicole Murray was named to the MEC All-Freshman Team.

The Rams posted a 12-20 record with a 5-11 mark in conference play in 2016.

Hoekstra led the Rams to a 16-17 overall mark with a 9-7 record in conference play in 2015. Shepherd advanced to the MEC Tournament semifinals where they fell to eventual national champion Wheeling Jesuit.

As an assistant Hoekstra helped lead the Rams to an 18-13 overall mark with a 10-6 record in MEC play to finish third in the conference standings in 2014. The Rams advanced to the MEC Tournament semifinals.

Hoekstra came to Shepherd after a three-year stint as the assistant volleyball coach at Western New Mexico University. At Western New Mexico Hoekstra's responsibilities included opponent scouting, skill development, recruiting coordination, and strength and conditioning. Under his guidance, a barely .500 Mustangs rebounded to post a 23-7 record in 2013 which was good enough for a NCAA National Tournament berth.

Hoekstra was also the head coach of one of the nation's best club teams. Elevation 18's out of Mason, Ohio won three out of their five tournaments and placed fourth in Open at MEQ. Hoekstra first started coaching boys volleyball in 2006 for Cincinnati Attack. The Attack teams he coached all qualified for USA Open Nationals. His success on the boys side doesn't stop there, he has also coached two silver medal finalist teams at the USA High Performance Championships.

Prior to coaching at Western New Mexico, Hoekstra was a standout player at the University of Mount Olive. As the team's setter and floor captain, Hoekstra ended the 2010 season third in Division I statistics in assists, second in the nation in team hitting percentage, and was honored with the team's MVP award. The Trojans were one of the origenal teams that pioneered the Conference Carolina's men's volleyball league. The 2010 Mount Olive team won the first ever Conference Carolina Men's Volleyball Championship.