As the only all-female coaching staff in the Big East besides South Florida, the Marquette women's volleyball team is something of an anomaly.

Coach Pati Rolf said she thought it was important to recruit female assistant coaches Erica Heisser, 25 and Raftyn Rignell, 26.

"It is unusual to have two female assistant coaches . it's rare," Rolf said. "We have two really strong females women can look up to. I think women need to be coached by women."

Heisser and Rignell represent both sides of the coaching spectrum, Rolf said. While Heisser is more "methodical and academic," Raftyn is more "blue collar" and a "fighter."

"It's a nice place for some players where one person is really pushing, cracking the whip, it's like having a mom and dad, if you go through the old stereotypes," Rolf said. "Like my mother and father, Erica is the mother and Raftyn the father."

Heisser played for three years under Rolf and graduated in 2005. As middle blocker and captain for Marquette, Heisser led the team to a 22-7 record — the best Division I record in school history. They also made it to the Conference USA Championship game in 2004.

Highly involved in academics in college as the president of Student Athlete Advisory Council and a four-time member of the C-USA Commission's Honor Roll, Heisser agreed that she presents a more nurturing teaching style, while Raftyn is more "aggressive."

"I take a more educating role, while Raftyn is more 'Rahr!' up in your face, more aggressive," she said.

Junior Katie Vancura said Heisser's experience under Rolf helps her leadership style.

"Erica is really descriptive and you can tell she's been under Pati for a while," Vancura said. "She's really motivating for each player."

Heisser, who lives in Shorewood, uses her academic credentials to be the academic advisor for the players, meeting with about half the team each week.

Apart from academic advising, Heisser coordinates all the recruiting, watches about four-to-six hours of film a week for scouting, and creates travel itineraries and scouting reports with Rignell, she said.

Heisser said she sometimes misses playing at Marquette versus coaching because she can't actively control the game's outcome.

"It's challenging to have a hands-off approach during the game, whereas as a player you're more involved in the success of the team during matches," Heisser said. "But both are really rewarding."

Rignell played as a starter at Connecticut where she spent about two years sidelined after tearing her ACL twice. In 2005, Rignell became coach at Division III Presentation College, S.D., for three years, where she coached the school's first winning season.

Raftyn said she had mixed feelings about the transfer from head coach to assistant, but enjoys the increased responsibilities she's had at Marquette.

"It was a little tough going from a head coach, making all the decisions, to being an assistant, but Pati was such a great coach that it's easy," Rignell said. "She says something and you listen, so that was an easy transition for me."

Rignell, who lives in Glendale with her husband, Derek Rignell, said she likes working with an all female staff.

"I think it's important to have women as coaches," Rignell said. "Some schools have an entire male staff, here we have women to go to when you need stuff that a woman can help with."

Vancura said having an all-female staff helps the coaches be sensitive to the player's needs.

"They offer good insight into what we need and what's going on in Pati's head," Vancura said.