Stella Thai

Stella was born and raised outside of Richmond, VA where she started playing volleyball at 13 years old. She quickly fell in love with the sport and was an outside hitter and DS for her high school and club teams. After high school, Stella went on to study mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech and continued with her studies at Georgia Tech, receiving her MS in prosthetics and orthotics. Her career in prosthetics and orthotics brought her to the Midwest in 2022, and she moved to South Bend, IN in 2024. Stella started coaching with NIVA in 2025 and also coaches St. Joseph High School’s freshman team. Stella has a strong passion for developing well rounded student-athletes both on and off the court, emphasizing the importance of being good, respectful people first. She aims to challenge and empower her athletes to be competitive and impactful in the sport of volleyball.