MARYVILLE, Mo. — Northwest Missouri State volleyball coach Anna Tool’s contract won’t be renewed for 2010, the university announced Wednesday.

Tool will continue to coach through the end of this season, with her affiliation with the university ending upon the Dec. 31 expiration of her contract.

Tool told the team privately about the decision just prior to practice Tuesday. Athletic director Dr. Bob Boerigter then followed up with his own meeting with the team.

Boerigter said the decision wasn’t based solely on her overall won-loss record. The Bearcats are 51-70 during her 3 1/2 seasons at the helm and are 18-33 in MIAA competition. This season’s team is 10-11 overall and 1-4 in conference play.

“There’s a number of factors that always go into a determination as to whether you’re going to renew a coach,” Boerigter said. “I just felt it was best for us to make this change. I’m not in a position to say much more than that.”

But Boerigter’s decision didn’t sit well with some, including Tool.

“I was blind-sided by it,” Tool said. “I had no communication with administration leading up to the decision.”

Tool pledged to continue investing her time and energy through the remainder of the season.

So did hitter Ashley Mitchell, whose comments Wednesday afternoon hinted that not all of her teammates were as supportive of their coach.

“I’m (ticked) off,” Mitchell said flatly, adding she believed it to be a poor and unfair decision. “I feel betrayed by my own teammates. Regardless of the situation, we will play and perform to the best of our abilities. This is a hurdle, but we will get over it.”

Mitchell, who said the announcement “kind of hit everybody out of nowhere,” said she had not been aware of any problems between players and their coach.

“Her door’s always open. She reaches out to us. I felt never in any way verbally abused,” said Mitchell, who returned to the team this season after a two-year layoff. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have come back to the game in the first place.”

Tool said that although this appears to be a final decision, she believes she still has support and isn’t giving up hope that she could return to the Northwest bench.

“There are a lot of active voices out there right now,” she said.

Tool came to Northwest from Virginia Wesleyan College, where she compiled a 38-22 record from 2001 to 2003. Her best season at Northwest was in 2007, when the Bearcats went 17-17. Her 14-19 record in 2006 represented the most wins by an inaugural Bearcat coach since 1987.

Tool is known for a fast-paced, aggressive style of offense.

Boerigter said the university will begin advertising for the coaching position immediately. He doesn’t expect to fill the position until some time after the end of the season.