After an award-winning 5-year career as a student-athlete in both indoor and beach volleyball, Ara Norwood is in her first season as an assistant coach for the Mavericks.
She is also the executive assistant to the CMU’s Vice President of Communications David Ludlam.
Norwood, affectionately known as “Bob”, completed her master’s degree in sports administration in 2022 after using the NCAA’s blanket COVID waiver for a fifth year of eligibility.
Norwood finished her career as the winningest CMU beach volleyball player in program history with 36 wins and went 14-9 as a fifth-year senior as the Mavs claimed the AVCA Small College Division II Beach Championship national title in 2022.
In the indoor game, Norwood recorded 1,636 assists and 619 digs in 106 career matches from 2017-21 as a setter and defensive specialist earning a pair of Honorable Mention All-RMAC honors (2018-19). She was also named to the RMAC All-Tournament team in 2018 after helping lead the Mavs to the RMAC Tournament title and to the first of her two (2021) NCAA Tournament appearances.
Norwood also helped run the Maverick attack during the 2021 spring season that saw the Mavericks go 15-1 and a perfect 11-0 in RMAC play to win the conference title.
A native of Ridgway, Colorado, Norwood was also a 4-time RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll recipient and was a leading member of the CMU SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee).
