Vanessa Cogswell enters her sixth season as head coach of the Bethune-Cookman University volleyball program.

In 2004, Cogswell became the first Bethune-Cookman volleyball coach to post a winning record in her first season, overcoming an 0-4 start and an early part of the schedule disrupted by hurricanes to post a season for a 14-12 mark, including a 7-3 slate against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opposition.

An alumnus and former volleyball defensive standout Cogswell lettered in two sports while at Bethune-Cookman. She played volleyball from 1999 to 2001 as a defensive specialist and setter, while also performing on the Wildcats' 2001 tennis squad.

A native of Melbourne, Fla., Cogswell earned her undergraduate degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology in 2001. Before coming to Bethune-Cookman, she attended Brevard Community College from 1997 to 1999, where she lettered in volleyball and basketball.

After completing her bachelor's at Bethune-Cookman, Cogswell attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where she earned her Masters degree in Social Psychology of Sport. While at SIUC, she received an assistantship in the Physical Education Department, teaching undergraduate courses in Diversity of American Sport, Concepts of Physical Fitness, and Volleyball. She also interned in SIUC's athletic department as an academic advisor, while conducting observational research on SIUC's volleyball program.