STANFORD, Calif. – Former Auburn associate head coach Rachel Corbelli and Utah Director of Scouting and Player Personnel Whitney Bower have been named assistant coaches for the Stanford women's volleyball program, as announced by Kevin Hambly, The Montag Family Director of Women’s Volleyball.
Corbelli will fill the vacancy left by Alex Dunphy, who served as an assistant from 2022-25, and will take over the Kimberly and Beverly Oden Assistant Coach title, while Bower replaces Molly Lambillotte (2024-25) as the third assistant.
“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 enters his 10th season on The Farm in 2026.
Corbelli comes to The Farm after serving as an assistant/associate head coach/recruiting coordinator at Auburn since 2022. She is the sister of former Cardinal volunteer assistant coach Russell Corbelli, who helped coach Stanford to back-to-back national titles in 2018 and 2019.
“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.”
While at Auburn, Corbelli helped the Tigers to one of its most successful seasons in recent memory in 2022. A record 14-0 start to the season and 3-0 beginning to SEC play set in motion a campaign that culminated in Auburn earning its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history. With a first-round victory over host and No. 14 Creighton, the Tigers grabbed just its second postseason win and finished with 22 victories on the season - the most in the rally-scoring era and most since 1998.
Prior to Auburn, Corbelli coached at Austin Juniors, one of the top volleyball club programs in the United States. In addition to her head coaching duties, she came on as the organization’s full-time communications manager in 2016, handling aspects of social media, marketing and branding. She also served as the club’s assistant director of recruiting. In 2015, Corbelli was an honorable mention for AJV Coach of the Year.
Corbelli’s volleyball roots run deep within her family. Her parents John and Laurie Corbelli won silver medals as a coach and athlete, respectively, at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The pair coached together at Texas A&M for 24 seasons. Russell is currently an assistant volleyball coach at Vanderbilt University.
Corbelli earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Texas San Antonio before earning a master’s in journalism from University of Texas at Austin.
Bower comes to The Farm after serving one season at Utah as the Director of Scouting and Player Personnel. A three-time AVCA All-America setter at BYU, she has additional coaching experience as an assistant at the 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 assisted her former club, Idaho Crush Volleyball, in a variety of roles, including as an assistant coach of the club's elite teams. In 2024, she helped guide the club's 15s team to a National Championship at USAV's Junior Olympics.
Bower was a three-time All-American and earned multiple AVCA Southwest All-Region honors as well as All-Big 12 first-team selection while at BYU. She also earned West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Setter of the Year honors before the Cougars switched to the Big 12.
She finished her collegiate career as the all-time rally-scoring era assists record holder, tallying 4,583. She finished her career first all-time in the BYU record books in sets played, second in service aces and third in total digs.
Bower was drafted to the Professional Volleyball Federation's Atlanta Vibe as the ninth overall pick ahead of the 2024 season. She helped the Vibe to a 19-5 regular season record, giving Atlanta the first Professional Volleyball Federation regular season championship.
A native of Nampa, Idaho, Bower was one of Idaho's most decorated volleyball players as a setter at Skyview High School, leading the Hawks to back-to-back state championships. Bower also comes from a volleyball family. Among her six sisters, three played collegiate volleyball, including Eden Bower (Auburn) and Alex Bower (BYU).
Bower graduated from BYU in 2023 with a degree in exercise science.