App State Volleyball head coach Chad Sutton announced the hiring of Valerie Sutton as an assistant coach and director of volleyball operations on May 1, 2025. 

"I am excited and thankful for the opportunity to help take App State Volleyball over the top," Sutton said. 
 
Sutton served as an assistant coach at Mercer for two seasons and had coached in a similar role at Coastal Carolina. 
 
She joined the Mercer staff in 2023. In her two seasons with the Bears, she helped lead the team to a 42-19 record. Last season, the Bears went 26-7, marking their best program record, and clinched the program's first outright SoCon regular season title as well as their first postseason appearance. She also helped guide the Bears to a 16-12 overall record and 12-4 SoCon record during the 2023 season. The 2023 season was highlighted by the program's first win at Samford in nearly three decades. 
 
In 2022, Sutton was part of the coaching staff at Coastal Carolina, where she helped guide the Chanticleers to 17 victories and a runner-up finish in the Sun Belt East Division standings. The Chanticleers recorded a team hitting percentage of .235, and their non-conference slate was highlighted by a shutout of Virginia Tech. 
 
Sutton made her coaching debut as an assistant coach at McCutcheon High School in Indiana. She helped guide the Mavericks to the program's first state championship, a record of 30-6, and 26 sweeps. In the program's seven matches in the state tournament, the Mavericks only dropped two sets. 
 
A two-time All-American at Purdue, Sutton (then Valerie Nichol) appeared in 455 sets and 132 matches for the Boilermakers from 2011-14. She registered 903 kills and a career hitting percentage of .215 with 2,149 assists, 623 digs, 213 blocks, and 57 aces. Additionally, she notched 30 double-doubles and four triple-doubles and was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. She was also a member of the USA National Collegiate A2 Team (2012, 2013) and a member of the USA College U22 National Team that made an appearance in the 2014 Global Challenge in Europe. In 2017, she received an invitation to the USA National Team Training Camp. For eight years, she competed professionally in Germany, Poland, Puerto Rico, and the United States.
 
In 2015, she earned her bachelor's degree in movement and sport science from Purdue. She married App State head coach Chad Sutton, whom she had coached with at Coastal Carolina and Mercer, in 2023. They had their son, Brody, in 2025.