Lynnette Moster is no stranger to success on the court.

The three-time All-ACC Georgia Tech outside hitter trained with the U.S. national team and played professionally in Puerto Rico following her college days.

After a brief, successful stint as Olivet College’s head coach, Moster joined Ray Gooden on NIU volleyball’s staff. With serious ties on the East Coast, Moster is NIU’s recruiting and traveling coordinator.

Moster spoke with the Northern Star about her time with the team and where volleyball has taken her so far.

Northern Star: At what point did you know you would have a career in coaching?

Lynnette Moster: It was probably in Puerto Rico when I was playing. I had just gotten done with my senior year in college and went straight to playing in Puerto Rico. While we were training, I realized how much I missed the college atmosphere of the training that was involved on a day-to-day basis along with the coaching styles.

It went from that kind of intense training in college to the professional, where it was more laid back. It was more about play and just showing up and doing your thing. It wasn’t quite my thing.

So once I got to that point I realized I wanted to coach college athletics because that was where I had passion. I’ve been playing volleyball since I was a little kid and my mom and dad were coaches. The whole atmosphere of being in the gym and training, and working with student-athletes has always been enjoyable, so I knew that I wanted to be a coach probably once I finished my playing career.

NS: How did you end up at NIU?

LM: A friend had called me and said that Ray Gooden needed a good assistant coach and I was like, ‘Okay I’ll take a look and see what they have’. I saw there was a great program that came off of a great season.

Everything everyone ever said about Ray was positive and I knew he was going to be a great person to work for. Seeing the success he’s had in his 11 years that he’s been here is very respectable. I knew that this would be a great transition for me in my career. It’s been a fabulous experience so far.

NS: What keeps coaching fun for you?

LM: Just the interaction with the student athletes and seeing them grow not just in the gym, but off the court as well.

NS: What is your ultimate goal with coaching?

LM: I’m still trying to figure it out. It’s still pretty early in my career and everything changes every year. Where I’m at right now, this is a great place to be. I knew this is a great place to build a program and Ray has definitely shown that by taking this program to a top-20 program in the country in RPI. There’s definitely potential.