Aline dos Santos

Aline dos Santos

Position: Assistant Coach
Alma Mater: Marist College
Graduating Year: 2005
Experience: Fourth Season

Dos Santos, entering her fourth season with the Zips, joined the Akron volleyball coaching staff in 2008 after having assisted in a monumental turnaround at Central Michigan University and brings international experience to the fold as a former standout athlete at Marist College. She was promoted to first assistant during the summer prior to the 2010 season and handles all aspects of recruiting, along with opponent scouting, the scheduling of tournaments and dealing with equipment. 

“Passion and motivation are only a few words that describe Aline,” head coach Ron Arenz said at the time of her hiring. “Her work ethic and international experience will be relied upon immediately. Having learned this game in her home country of Brazil, her insight to our development will be critical as we make our moves towards winning championships in the MAC.”

As a graduate assistant at CMU, dos Santos helped spur the Chippewas to the biggest turnaround season in MAC history and seventh-best in NCAA history in 2006 when Central Michigan posted a record of 17-13; a 12.5-game reversal from the previous year. The improvement continued in 2007 as the Chips notched their first 20-win season (22-10) in 22 years and second winning season in the MAC (10-6) since 1996.

Dos Santos enjoyed a brief, record-setting career as a player at Marist College prior to joining the CMU staff. The two-year letterwinner, whose career was cut short due to an injury, left the school with a host of records including three career and four single-season milestones. She served as a student assistant coach her final two years.

As of 2007, her two-year totals of 708 kills and 2,039 attacks both rank fifth in Marist’s career records and she is seventh in career digs with 550. She also set the team’s single-season mark for kills (436) and attacks (1,231) during her sophomore season. She was named to the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic team as a sophomore and was elected team captain prior to her sophomore and junior seasons.

Dos Santos served as a teaching assistant in 2005-06 at Staples High School in New York. She was also the varsity assistant coach of the boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams and led the boys to the 2006 FCIAC championship title.

The Sao Paulo, Brazil native graduated from Marist in 2005 with a bachelor of arts degree in communication. She was named to the Dean’s List all four years and earned the Marist College President’s Academic Achievement Award in 2005. In 2008 dos Santos graduated from Central Michigan University with a master’s in sport administration.

In the 2009 off season, along with former assistant coach Cass Dixon, Dos Santos coached the Open Level of Girls 16’s and under and led her team to the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Championships where they finished 25th in the country.

Dos Santos resides in Akron, Ohio.