2008 Coaching Staff
Jason Miller
Head Coach / Associate Director of Athletics
(419) 448-2377
jmiller7@heidelberg.edu
Veteran head coach Jason Miller returns for his ninth season at the helm of the Heidelberg College volleyball team in 2008. Miller was tabbed the 2007 Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Berg to one of its most successful seasons in the program’s history.
In eight seasons Miller has amassed a career record of 143-125 and has made six-consecutive trips to the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. The Berg is coming off a season that produced a record-tying 27 wins. Prior to 2007, the Berg had not won a postseason match, but that fact was dismissed following Heidelberg’s 3-1 OAC quarterfinal win over Muskingum College. The Berg went on to take home runner-up honors at the OAC Tournament and eventually earned an at-large bid to the Division III National Championships.
The volleyball team has claimed Heidelberg’s Bill Landess Scholar Team Award in each of the last two years and has placed 11 student-athletes on the Academic All-OAC list, along with 11 earning all-conference accolades during Miller’s tenure. Nationally, Heidelberg has won two GamePlan/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Awards.
In 2006, Heidelberg started the season winning 13 of its first 14 matches. The Berg went on to post a 22-15 overall record, which ranks third in the team record book for victories in a season. Miller became just the second coach in the history of the program to post 100 career victories after topping Kalamazoo 3-0 on Sept. 8, 2006.
Miller took over the reigns of a program that won just 10 games in 1999. In his first season at the Berg, the team posted an 8-21 record, but its win total has reached double digits every year since.
During the winter, Miller serves as the head wrestling coach. This year marks his seventh year guiding the Berg grapplers. He has led the Berg to three-straight OAC Tournament titles and two of the last three OAC Regular Season Championships, while garnering Coach of the Year honors the last three-consecutive years. Heidelberg has finished in the top-three in the league standings in each of his six years. Overall, Miller owns a career record of 58-32 and a 23-8 mark in the OAC. Miller has produced 15 OAC champions and five All-Americans, along with the Berg’s first national champion ever in Joe Pflug (2006) at 157 pounds.
Not to be outdone, Miller has coached 11 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Academic All-Americans. Also, in 2004, 2006 and 2008 Heidelberg ranked in the top-20 as a team on the NWCA Academic list.
A native to Tiffin and graduate of Hopewell-Loudon High School, Miller was a three-time national qualifier and a two-time All-American at 158 pounds for Heidelberg. He won the
Ohio Athletic Conference 158-pound class at the 1997 championships and was a three-time All-OAC performer. He was team captain during the 1997 season and was a 1996 NWCA Academic All-American.
Miller finished his four-year career with a record of 136-38 for a .781 winning percentage. His 136 victories are tops on the college's all-time win list and his 41-2 record in 1997 sits atop the single season win list followed by his 36 wins as a junior.
Prior to returning to Heidelberg Miller spent three seasons as the assistant wrestling coach at Ohio Northern University.
Aside from his coaching duties, Miller serves as Heidelberg’s associate director of athletics. Miller works with director of athletics Matt Palm in directing the day-to-day operations of the athletic department; with an emphasis on facility scheduling, budget management and the annual hall of fame inductions. He also helps to continually develop the successful ’Berg Pride program.
Miller earned his bachelor's degree from Heidelberg in 1998 and his master's degree from the University of Findlay in 2001. Miller, his wife, Jennifer, and daughters, Hannah, Olivia and Emily, reside in Sycamore, Ohio.
| Miller Year-By-Year | ||
| Year | Overall | OAC |
| 2000 | 8-21 | 2-7 |
| 2001 | 15-17 | 1-8 |
| 2002 | 15-16 | 2-7 |
| 2003 | 18-16 | 3-6 |
| 2004 | 21-13 | 5-4 |
| 2005 | 17-16 | 3-6 |
| 2006 | 22-15 | 4-5 |
| 2007 | 27-11 | 7-2 |
| Career | 143-125 (.534) | 27-45 (.375) |
.gif)
Kiara Ruffing
Assistant Coach
(419) 448-2377
Joining the Heidelberg coaching staff for her first season in 2008 is Kiara Ruffing. Ruffing joins head coach Jason Miller after completing a successful four-year playing career at Tiffin University. In her inaugural campaign at the Berg Ruffing will serve as the setters coach and recruiting coordinator.
Ruffing was a four-year letter winner at setter for the Dragons. As a junior, Ruffing helped to guide TU to a record-setting 35-10 season and a berth in the American Mideast Conference Tournament and the NAIA Playoffs.
Ruffing attended nearby Seneca East High School and earned four varsity letters for the Tigers. She was a three-time All-Midland Athletic League honoree, garnering first team accolades as a senior. Ruffing was selected to the District 6 Honorable Mention team as a junior and the second team in her senior campaign. She picked up Seneca East Co-Most Valuable Player honors in her final season.
She originally hails from Bellevue, Ohio and graduated in May from Tiffin with a degree in business, sports management and hospitality. Ruffing is currently pursuing a master’s degree from Heidelberg.