DARLINGTON — Danielle (Ruf) Duerst is returning to her roots.
After three highly successful seasons as the Platteville varsity volleyball coach, Duerst has left the program to be closer to home. She was recently named the head volleyball coach at her alma mater Darlington High School.
Duerst, a 2007 DHS graduate and the 2006 SWAL volleyball Player of the Year, was the Redbirds’ varsity reserve coach prior to taking over the Platteville volleyball program in the summer of 2017.
Duerst led the Hillmen to a 92-28 record (.767), including a 29-1 mark in Southwest Wisconsin Conference play, and three straight SWC titles in her three seasons at PHS, but made the choice to return to Darlington, where she played and began her coaching career. She was also named the SWC Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2019.
“I don’t know how I got so lucky to start my varsity coaching career at Platteville,” said Duerst. “Everyone has been great from the administration to the community, but I am going to miss the girls the most.
“Platteville has been a second home to me the past three years and I am very grateful for all the support and memories. It was a very hard decision to step down but with a new job an hour commute to practice and then a half hour commute home.”
Duerst and her family live in Fayette, a small town located 7.5 miles northeast of Darlington (a 36-minute drive from Platteville High School).
She previously worked as a graphic designer at The Shopping News in Platteville during her first two seasons as Platteville’s coach, but took a job at RBS Activewear in Argyle prior to the 2019 volleyball season.
The new job meant Duerst had an hour drive from work to practice, then a 36-minute drive home after.
Darlington High is just 22 minutes from RBS Activewear and the Duerst home is just another 15 minutes from DHS.
“I was on the road more than I saw my family,” Duerst added. “My kids are growing up too fast and I was never seeing them. So in the end I came down to my family.”
The Hillmen went 35-7 a year ago, 10—0 in the SWC, and won a WIAA Division 2 regional title before ending the season with a 3-1 sectional semifinal loss to No. 2 seeded McFarland (25-20, 25-23, 16-25, 25-23).
“I started my coaching career basically right out of high school at Darlington and I didn’t think that I would coach anywhere else,” added Duerst. “I wanted to build the Darlington volleyball program to be successful. Things changed and I decided to walk away from coaching for a while.
“When Platteville called me to see if I had any interest in coaching for them, I was hesitant, but I was up for something different. I wouldn’t change anything about the past three years at Platteville. They have been great and I believe that if I was still working in Platteville I would still be coaching at Platteville. But being back at my alma mater is great, I have many great memories playing and coaching. I have always seen myself taking a program and building it to be successful, I am pleased that it will be in Darlington. I will miss Platteville though.”
