Van Compton enters her 38^th season as head coach of the Little Rock Volleyball program in 2025. Her career record includes 45 seasons and a mark of 659-592 (.527) and at Little Rock she is 587-512 (.534), having led the Trojans to four regular season Sun Belt Conference championships, five tournament championships, six postseason appearances and five appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including advancing to the NCAA Second Round in 2014. Prior to Little Rock, she was the head coach of the Lyon College volleyball team from 1975-1982.

Compton enters the 2025 season ranked 8th among active Division I coaches in career wins and remains the all-time winningest coach in Sun Belt Conference history. The "Queen of the Sun Belt" ended her reign following the 2021 season when Little Rock moved to the Ohio Valley Conference and Compton concluded her tenure in the league with a 261-180 (.592) record in Sun Belt play.
 
Little Rock’s 2024 team put the program on an upward trajectory, matching the best start in program history (5-0) after beating Rutgers for just the program’s second win over a Power 5 school in the last 10 seasons and first since 2021. The Trojans advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament for the second straight season after missing the tournament during their inaugural OVC campaign and set a number of program records during the season, including single-season marks for total digs (1^st), assists (6^th), and total attacks (2^nd).  

The 2021 season saw Compton's squad record a historic 3-2 win over Arkansas at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville. The win, Little Rock's first over a Southeastern Conference program since 2013, witnessed three Trojans secure double-doubles as Little Rock claimed a win over a Razorback team that was receiving votes in the Top 25 poll. Yet another postseason appearance capped off the 2018 season as Little Rock received a bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

In 2014, Compton fielded the best team in program history. The Trojans finished the Sun Belt Conference undefeated at 20-0 and finished with an overall record of 30-5. Towards the end of the season, Little Rock had the longest winning streak in the nation with 25 consecutive victories. The Trojans finished the regular season with 20 conference wins, the most in Division I. Compton became the Sun Belt Conference's all-time winningest coach when she earned her 216th conference win in straight sets against Arkansas State. Compton earned her fifth Sun Belt Conference Tournament Title after sweeping South Alabama, UT Arlington and Texas State. Compton led the Trojans past the No. 16-seed Kansas Jayhwaks in five sets to earn the program's first NCAA Tournament win. In the final AVCA Coaches Poll, Little Rock cracked the Top 25 for the first time in program history, ranked No. 24. Compton was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year for the second time before earning her first AVCA Southwest Region Coach of the Year award. In 2008, Compton led the Trojans to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.
 
Since 1991, when Little Rock joined the Sun Belt Conference, the Trojans are the only team to win three consecutive conference tournament titles. Compton led the 1996 Trojan squad to its first-ever SBC title. Little Rock then advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The 1997 season saw Compton leading an injury-plagued squad to its first-ever regular season title as well as its second-consecutive tournament title. The Trojans advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year in 1997. In 1998, the Trojans made Sun Belt history with their third consecutive tournament title and NCAA appearance. The 1999 season saw the end of the Trojans' run at tournament titles, but still kept Little Rock’s string of success alive with a share of the regular season title. In 2000, the Trojans' success began anew, as the squad won both the regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament in Gainesville, Fla.

In 1988, Compton resurrected the volleyball program at Little Rock. The following season was a major turnaround for the Trojans. Compton led the 1989 Trojans to a 27-11 record, improving by 21 victories over the previous year. In 1990, the team finished at 21-3 and finished second in the NAIA District 17 Tournament. Along with the rest of the Little Rock program, the volleyball team made a big step in competition, moving to the Sun Belt Conference in 1991.

Little Rock reached the conference tournament 23 out of 25 seasons since being in the Sun Belt. In 1993, Compton was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year after directing the Trojans to a 24-12 mark and a second-place finish in the league.

A graduate of Arkansas State, Compton taught high school in her native Forrest City, Ark., before becoming women's basketball and volleyball coach at Arkansas College. She joined the Little Rock athletic program in 1986 as women's basketball coach before taking over the volleyball program in 1988.