Michele Benoit recently finished her fifth season at Haverford College in the fall of 2015 after being named head coach of the volleyball program in April of 2011. Benoit has a career coaching record of 538-211 over 20 seasons as a head coach, a .718 winning percentage.

In 2015, the Fords won 20 matches for the fourth straight season and qualifed for the Centennial Conference playoffs for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons. Haverford reached the conference championship with a thrilling five-set comeback victory over Hood Trophy rival, Swarthmore in semifinals. Meg O'Day '15 became just the sixth player in Centennial Conference history to receive all-conference first team honors four times. She graduated as the all-time leader in attack percentage (.349) and block assists (244). Keri Godbe was a four-time All-CC player, being selected to the All-CC second team in 2015, first team in 2013 and 2014 and honorable mention in 2012. 

The 2014 season was spectacular for the Fords. Haverford received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after hosting the Centennial Conference Tournament for the first time since the 2010 season. The Fords defeated the SUNY New Paltz Hawks in the first round in three sets (25-21, 25-15, 25-23) to score the team's first NCAA Tournament win since the 2009 season. O'Day ended the year on the American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) All-American third team, AVCA All-Regional team, Newport News Regional All-Tournament team and was the fifth Ford in conference history to win the Centennial Conference Player of the Year.

The Fords, with three all-conference players in the lineup, advanced to the Centennial Conference semifinals for the 13th consecutive year in 2012. The 2011 squad captured an opening-round victory against Swarthmore College in the Centennial tournament and went 14-14 overall in Benoit's initial season at the helm.

Benoit brings 16 years of head coaching experience at the Division II and III levels to Haverford. She joins the Fords' staff after two seasons as the head coach at Division II University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Benoit posted a 40-23 record with the Rangers, including a 21-win season in 2009. It was the program's first season with 20+ wins since 1997.

"I am very pleased to welcome Michele Benoit to Haverford College as our head volleyball coach," said Director of Athletic Wendy Smith upon hiring Benoit. "Michele's distinct appreciation for and commitment to the Division III athletic experience and her emphasis on both the academic and athletic excellence of our student-athletes made her an ideal selection for the continued success of our volleyball program."

Before making the jump to Division II, Benoit served as the head coach of Mount St. Joseph for 14 seasons. In her time as the leader of the Lions, Benoit won 400 matches and 10 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) championships. The Lions concluded a season ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25 eight times, including six consecutive top-10 rankings from 1999 to 2004. She garnered five HCAC and two Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year awards. A member of the AVCA Great Lake All-Region Team selection committee, Benoit also sat on the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Advisory and NCAA Division III National Volleyball Coaches committees.

"I am excited to be at an institution that is as high caliber, athletically and academically, as Haverford," stated Benoit at the time of her hiring. "I look forward to the new challenges and being back at Division III, and continuing the success that the program has enjoyed, and to helping it advance on a national level."

Benoit started her coaching career at Magnificat High School in 1987, where she was also a full-time theology teacher. In her six seasons, she won 123 matches and led the team to the 1991 OSHAA Division I state semifinal.

A graduate of Ashland University with a B.S. in education, Benoit was a defensive specialist for the volleyball team. She was a two-time letterwinner and a senior captain. Benoit also earned a M.Ed. from the University of Akron. She is a member of the AVCA, Women's Sports Foundation and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.