Shannon Lamb enters her 23rd season at Wichita State in 2022 and is in her 14th year as director of operations after serving the previous nine seasons as an assistant coach.
The Lamb family
During her time as an assistant coach at Wichita State, Lamb helped the Shockers to four Missouri Valley Conference regular-season titles, one MVC Tournament title and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
As Director of Operations, Lamb is responsible for organizing and planning many events including Alumni Weekend, the annual volleyball banquet, and the volleyball 101 dinner. She also coordinates the Junior Spikers program, along with the Shocks Match Club, and volleyball camps and clinics, as well as assisting with travel arrangements for the team.
Prior to her arrival in Wichita, Lamb spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Washington State in Pullman, Wash.
Lamb was an assistant volleyball coach at New Mexico State in the spring of 1997 and was named first assistant coach at Northern Illinois University in June of the same year. While at NIU, she helped lead the Huskies to the Mid-American Conference title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament where they fell in the second round to eventual Final Four participant Penn State.
A 1993 graduate from St. Ambrose University with a bachelor of arts degree in sports management, Lamb was a three-time first-team all-conference selection (1989, 1991, 1992) and twice earned all-district accolades (1991 and 1992). The Davenport, Iowa, native was team captain for two years, named the "Most Valuable Player" for a season and earned the Stephanie Mullin's Award for outstanding leadership. The award is named after the former Wichita State volleyball player who died from complications from surgery in 1984.
Upon completing her bachelor's degree at St. Ambrose, Lamb served as the assistant track and field coach at her alma mater for one year. She took over the reigns of the volleyball program in 1994 and guided the Fighting Bees to back-to-back conference volleyball championships (1995, 96) and a berth in the 1995 NAIA Volleyball Championship Tournament. Lamb, who amassed 100 wins in just three seasons, was selected as the conference "Coach-of-the-Year" in 1995.
While at St. Ambrose, Lamb also had responsibilities as an assistant softball coach, coordinator for men's and women's tennis, and assistant to the athletic director. She earned her masters degree in business administration in 1996 from St. Ambrose.
She is married to Chris Lamb, and they have two daughters, Gracie and Sydney.
