University of Missouri Athletics

Wendel Camargo joined the University of Missouri volleyball staff in 2023 as recruiting coordinator. He was elevated to Associate Head Coach ahead of the 2024 campaign. 

In 2024, he helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA Sweet 16 with a 22-9 overall record. MU earned the seventh seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished the campaign ranked in the top-25.

Mizzou registered 20-plus overall wins and 10-plus SEC wins in a season for the first time since 2019. MU finished tied for third in the SEC this season with an 11-5 mark after being selected to finish sixth in the preseason poll.

The Tigers also surpassed their SEC (9) and overall win (18) totals from 2023, when Sullivan was named SEC Coach of the Year in her first season in Columbia.

Mizzou picked up a five-set win over No. 9 Texas Nov. 1 in Austin, Texas. The Tigers also downed No. 10 ranked and second-seeded SMU in Dallas to advance to the Third Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Missouri went on a nine-match win streak (eight SEC matches) from Oct. 9 to Nov. 10. It marked MU's longest win streak since 2016 (13 matches, nine SEC matches).

Camargo coached four All-SEC players, four AVCA Central All-Region players and a trio of All-Americans in 2024.

Graduate outside hitter Mychael Vernon was tabbed an AVCA Third-Team All-American while senior right side hitter Jordan Iliff and junior libero Maya Sands were selected AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans. 

Vernon, the 2024 SEC Newcomer of the Year and the 2024 AVCA Central Region Player of the Year, ranked third in the SEC with 504 kills (4.27 kills/set, ninth in the SEC) and 561.5 points (4.76 points/set, ninth in the SEC) in 2024.

Iliff ranked fifth in the SEC for points (546.5, 4.63 points/set, 10th in SEC) and seventh for kills (449, 3.81 kills/set, 11th in SEC) this season. She also recorded a Mizzou single-season record 68 aces which led the SEC (sixth in the NCAA, 0.58 aces/set, eighth in NCAA).

Sands, the 2023 and 2024 SEC Libero of the Year, led the SEC with 4.53 digs per set and ranked second in the league with 535 total digs (35th in the NCAA) this season. Her 535 digs this campaign rank sixth all-time for a single season at Mizzou.

Setter Marina Crownover was named All-SEC and to the AVCA Central All-Region Team. The redshirt sophomore ranked second in the SEC with 10.85 assists per set and fourth in the league with 1,139 assists. In the NCAA, Crownover was 15th for assists per set.

In Camargo's first season, Mizzou earned an impressive 18-13 mark including a .500 (9-9) record in SEC play with Dawn Sullivan earning SEC Coach of the Year.

In SEC play, Missouri went on both three-match and four-match win streaks in 2023, while also securing five wins over top-50 AVCA (based on KPI, Pablo, and RPI rankings) teams and nine wins over top-100 AVCA teams including two ranked wins over Auburn (#23 and #24, Oct. 20 & Nov. 12).

The eight-win overall improvement from 2022 (nine wins), tied for 12th nationally and ranked second among Power Five institutions and helped propel Missouri to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers secured a first-round win over Delaware before being eliminated by top-seed Nebraska.  

Under his guidance, three Tigers earned All-SEC honors, while two received 2023 AVCA Southeast All-Region recognition. 

Sophomore libero Maya Sands was named SEC Libero of the Year and selected to the All-SEC Team. Additionally, she also earned a spot on the 2023 Southeast All-Region Team. Sands paced the SEC with a career-best 542 digs (4.71 digs/set) in 2023. She ranked 32nd in the NCAA for digs and produced double-digit digs in every match of Mizzou's regular season (29 of 31 total matches)

Junior right side Jordan Iliff was also tabbed as an All-SEC team member, after leading the Tigers in 2023 with a career-best 388 kills (3.40 kills/set, 10th in the SEC), which ranked seventh in the SEC. She also accounted for 468 of Mizzou’s points (4.11 points/set, eighth in the SEC) for sixth in the league. Iliff was also named a Southeast All-Region Honorable Mention for her play in 2023. 

Freshman setter Sierra Dudley made her way onto the seven-member All-Freshman Team. Dudley posted 20 or more assists in 17 straight matches this season, with nine or more assists in every SEC contest this campaign including 30 or more assists in 14-straight matches from Sept. 24 to Nov. 12. She was the top true freshman setter in the conference in 2023. 

TEXAS A&M (2018-2022)

Camargo came to Columbia after spending five years as an assistant coach at Texas A&M under head coach Laura Kuhn. As a member of Kuhn's staff, Camargo helped lead the Aggies to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen as Kuhn was awarded SEC Coach of the Year in 2019.

That season, Texas A&M went 23-8 overall and 13-5 in conference play. Camargo helped guide Hollann Hans and Camille Conner to AVCA All-America honors, as well as AVCA All-South Region and All-SEC honors.

Camargo was in charge of training the setters and leading the Texas A&M offense during his time in College Station, Texas. Under his instruction, the Aggies had six players earn awards in the AVCA All-South Region, All-SEC, All-American Second-Team and Honorable Mention All-American, SEC All-Freshman Team, and All-SEC Team honors.

JAMES MADISON (2014-2017)

Camargo came to Texas A&M in January 2018 after serving four seasons as an assistant coach at James Madison University on Lauren Steinbrecher's staff. He was instrumental in the Dukes' immediate improvement and historic accomplishments during his tenure.

The Dukes won two Colonial Athletic Association regular season titles and two CAA Tournament Championships with Camargo on the coaching staff. They also made two NCAA tournament appearances and went 83-38 overall, having surpassed 20 wins in each of the last three seasons.

KANSAS (2012-13)

Prior to James Madison, Camargo served a two-year stint as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Kansas. Working primarily with the liberos and defensive specialists, the Jayhawks tallied more than 1,900 digs each of his two seasons and averaged 15.9 digs per set.

Camargo also mentored Big 12 digs leader and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Brianne Riley. He assisted Kansas Head Coach Ray Bechard to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and a final AVCA ranking of No. 17 in 2013 (25-8 record).

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC NATIONAL TEAM (2009-2012)

Before entering the coaching ranks in the United States, Camargo was a member of the coaching staff for the Dominican Republic National Team-Santo Domingo from 2009-12. He worked with the adult and junior national women's teams, including the 2012 Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) NORCECA Olympic Qualifiers.

With Camargo on staff, the Dominican Republic National Team qualified for the Olympic games for the first time in 16 years.

He helped coach the Dominican Republic to the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, the FIVB/NORCECA Final Four Women's Volleyball Cup, and a first-place finish at the FIVB/NORCECA World Championship Qualifiers. Camargo also helped the team place second at the FIVB Junior Pan American Cup in 2011.

Camargo worked closely with Brenda Castillo, who was awarded Best Libero at the 2012 Summer Olympics after leading the Dominican Republic to a fifth-place finish in London.

Prior to his time with the Dominican Republic National Team, Camargo coached in his home country of Brazil, including a stint in 2009 as the head coach at the University of Sao Paulo.

He received his Bachelor's degree in exercise science with an emphasis in physical education in 2008 from University Paulista in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he also played competitively.