Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Staff Members Involved with USA Volleyball
8/23/2022 1:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Two members of the Northwestern Volleyball staff, AJ Ruttenberg and Maggie Eppright, spent time making their mark in the USA Volleyball gym this summer.
Assistant Coach Maggie Eppright, who is entering her first season with the Wildcats this fall, worked with the U19 USA Volleyball Girls National Training Team as the Performance Analyst.
Eppright joined the staff of the U19 Girls National Training Team for the U19 Pan American Cup which took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma from July 6 to July 24. She also assisted at the NTDP Spring Series in Chicago, Illinois from May 6 to May 8.
"It's exciting to see the push our country is taking to encourage exposure to professional volleyball and the international style of the game at a younger age. I was grateful to get to be a part of that journey this spring and summer with USA Volleyball allowing me to represent our country with pride, bringing back a gold medal and qualifying for Worlds next summer," Eppright said.
Eppright's main role combined her coaching responsibilities with her role of scouting and analytics. Her primary responsibilities included setting up and recording practices, assisting coaching the passers and liberos, live scouting practices, preparing post practice analytics and live scouting the U19 Pan American matches.
"As a staff under Jamie Morrison, we were all coming from different places across the country, so getting to collaborate and be around elite coaches who see the game and train differently constantly created great conversations amongst us," Eppright said.
Eppright (second to the right) pictured with the rest of the U19 Girls National Training Team staff this summer.
Andrew James "AJ" Ruttenberg, who is entering his third season as the Northwestern Volleyball Technical Coordinator this fall, worked with the USA Volleyball Men's National Team as the Performance Analyst/ Team Leader.
Ruttenberg worked with the Men's National Team at the NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six Tournament in Tepic, Mexico from July 9 to July 18, 2022 and in Gatineau, Canada from Aug. 7 to Aug. 15, 2022. He began working with USA during an orientation period in Anaheim, California starting May 31 and included the training block starting June 6. Nate Ngo, the Men's National Team's Technical Coordinator, requested Ruttenberg to serve in this role.
"Being in the USA pipeline will open up a lot of opportunities for me, and Nate is one of the best in the world. Learning from him is a tech coordinator's dream," Ruttenberg said.
Ruttenberg's main responsibility in his role was to support the team and coaching staff with technical expertise as it related to video and statistical analysis during the training block, to aid in the selection of the roster and inform training priorities and to aid in the team's success in the tournament. His role also included some administrative tasks including acting as a team liaison with tournament officials in regards to official forms needed prior to the tournament and other miscellaneous team and travel related tasks.
In addition to his responsibilities with the USA Men's National Team, Ruttenberg helped Bryan Hurler, the Technical Coordinator for the Women's National Team.
Ruttenberg's experience allows him to gain knowledge on working with new programs such as "r" which helps technical coordinators to help tell a better story with the data for coaches to utilize more efficiently. He was also able to gain more experience using "VolleyStation," a program that plays a key role in Northwestern's success.
Ruttenberg after a USA Men's National Team Match in Tepic, Mexico.
Assistant Coach Maggie Eppright, who is entering her first season with the Wildcats this fall, worked with the U19 USA Volleyball Girls National Training Team as the Performance Analyst.
Eppright joined the staff of the U19 Girls National Training Team for the U19 Pan American Cup which took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma from July 6 to July 24. She also assisted at the NTDP Spring Series in Chicago, Illinois from May 6 to May 8.
"It's exciting to see the push our country is taking to encourage exposure to professional volleyball and the international style of the game at a younger age. I was grateful to get to be a part of that journey this spring and summer with USA Volleyball allowing me to represent our country with pride, bringing back a gold medal and qualifying for Worlds next summer," Eppright said.
Eppright's main role combined her coaching responsibilities with her role of scouting and analytics. Her primary responsibilities included setting up and recording practices, assisting coaching the passers and liberos, live scouting practices, preparing post practice analytics and live scouting the U19 Pan American matches.
"As a staff under Jamie Morrison, we were all coming from different places across the country, so getting to collaborate and be around elite coaches who see the game and train differently constantly created great conversations amongst us," Eppright said.
Eppright (second to the right) pictured with the rest of the U19 Girls National Training Team staff this summer.
Andrew James "AJ" Ruttenberg, who is entering his third season as the Northwestern Volleyball Technical Coordinator this fall, worked with the USA Volleyball Men's National Team as the Performance Analyst/ Team Leader.
Ruttenberg worked with the Men's National Team at the NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six Tournament in Tepic, Mexico from July 9 to July 18, 2022 and in Gatineau, Canada from Aug. 7 to Aug. 15, 2022. He began working with USA during an orientation period in Anaheim, California starting May 31 and included the training block starting June 6. Nate Ngo, the Men's National Team's Technical Coordinator, requested Ruttenberg to serve in this role.
"Being in the USA pipeline will open up a lot of opportunities for me, and Nate is one of the best in the world. Learning from him is a tech coordinator's dream," Ruttenberg said.
Ruttenberg's main responsibility in his role was to support the team and coaching staff with technical expertise as it related to video and statistical analysis during the training block, to aid in the selection of the roster and inform training priorities and to aid in the team's success in the tournament. His role also included some administrative tasks including acting as a team liaison with tournament officials in regards to official forms needed prior to the tournament and other miscellaneous team and travel related tasks.
In addition to his responsibilities with the USA Men's National Team, Ruttenberg helped Bryan Hurler, the Technical Coordinator for the Women's National Team.
Ruttenberg's experience allows him to gain knowledge on working with new programs such as "r" which helps technical coordinators to help tell a better story with the data for coaches to utilize more efficiently. He was also able to gain more experience using "VolleyStation," a program that plays a key role in Northwestern's success.
Ruttenberg after a USA Men's National Team Match in Tepic, Mexico.
Volleyball - 'Cats Defeat Iowa on Rylen Reid's 27-Kill Night (10/31/25)
Saturday, November 01
Volleyball - 'Cats Outlast Michigan in Five-Set Thriller (10/16/25)
Friday, October 17
Volleyball - Wildcats Sweep Campbell to Close Non-Conference Play (9/20/2025)
Sunday, September 21
Volleyball - 'Cats Defeat Valparaiso in Home Opener Reverse Sweep (9/9/2025)
Wednesday, September 10
