MENOMONIE — Cece Huhn has been around the game of volleyball her entire life.
She was the little girl at the gym dressed in a cheerleading outfit while her mother coached the Plymouth High School volleyball team. She went on to play for her mother, Peggy, at Plymouth, played collegiately at the University of Northern Colorado and coached in Colorado and Texas.
Huhn (pronounced Hewn) brings her love of the game to Menomonie after being named Menomonie High School’s head volleyball coach last spring.
A native of Cascade, Wis., near Plymouth, Huhn came to Menomonie in November 2025 after accepting a position as an academic advisor in the Achievement Center at UW-Stout Polytechnic. Within a few months, she was working with the Menomonie Youth Volleyball program, coaching the fifth- and eighth-grade teams. When the head coaching position for the high school varsity program opened, Huhn jumped at the opportunity.
“I love to coach, and the youth program was relaxed,” Huhn said. “I got a chance to meet the girls and loved getting out there and talking to them.
“When I got the (varsity) job, that was awesome. I came from a small program (Plymouth), and I can bring my experiences and viewpoints.”
Having been part of her mother’s high school program and watching her coach, Huhn gained both a player’s and a daughter’s perspective on her mother’s approach.
“When I look at building a program, I can look at how my mom ran the program,” Huhn said. “I respect my mom. I loved going to the gym, hearing my mom talk to the girls and coach in the gym. She showed a lot of resiliency and patience.”
At the University of Northern Colorado, Huhn, a middle blocker, played for an NCAA Division I program that won two Big Sky Conference regular-season titles (2021 and 2022). During the 2022 Big Sky Conference tournament, Huhn was selected to the all-tournament team. Throughout her collegiate career, Northern Colorado, a mid-major program in Greeley, Colo., earned four trips to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament.
Huhn wrapped up a five-year career at Northern Colorado in 2023 with 702 kills, 83 solo blocks and 303 block assists. She graduated in December 2023 with a degree in human services, then completed graduate work at Abilene (Texas) Christian University, earning a master’s degree in management. At both schools, Huhn was active as a volleyball coach.
Now, Huhn and her staff will look to build a Menomonie program that has not won a conference match since the 2022 season.
Huhn was able to get to know her athletes during open gyms two nights a week in June. Members of the senior class ran some of the sessions, and Huhn had the opportunity to see who could step into leadership roles.
“Finding some small wins will be important,” Huhn said. “We have to get that love of volleyball going. There are some great teams in the Big Rivers Conference.
“I want to see them have the confidence to go for a ball and still make a mistake. That’s where you learn. We will start those building blocks.”
Huhn will be assisted by Jacob Lathe on the varsity staff. CC Seibel will coach the junior varsity, Ella Fogeltanz will coach JV2, and Autumn Braun will coach the freshman team.
The Mustangs report Monday, Aug. 17, for three days of tryouts, and practice begins Thursday, Aug. 20. Menomonie opens the season Saturday, Aug. 22, at Colfax.
2026 Menomonie High School Volleyball Schedule
Layne Pitt has observed the Menomonie sports scene since the fall of 1978 when he came to UW-Stout as a student. He has been a contributor to Menomonie News Net for the publication’s entire existence.
The story “From Gym Rat to Head Coach” by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
