Growing up
with the sport BYU’s Shawn Olmstead follows family tradition of coaching excellence
INSTANT IMPACT: Shawn Olmstead has helped bring the Brigham Young women’s volleyball program to an elite level in four seasons. (Photo: BYU)
B
righam Young University’s Shawn Olmstead’s rise to the top of the col- legiate coaching ranks was definitely a family endeavor that started early. There is a baby photo of Olmstead in the arms of U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly and his high school co-star John Hanley celebrating a 1978 California Interscholastic Federation title that hangs in the Cougar coach’s office.
The image got some run on ESPN Network during the telecast of the NCAA Division I women’s national finals and is a reminder of the 36-year-old’s deep roots in the sport. Shawn’s father, Rick, was the Santa Bar-
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the float serve would have been a good option. … Micha is our best float server … But she does what she does, and I respect that.” One of the things she did really well in the final was execute the Penn State game plan, which called for her to run loads of slides and right-side attacks to steer the ball away from the block of 6-7 Cougar oppo- site Jennifer Hamson. How committed was Hancock to the back set? On one point, in the deciding third game of the championship match, she saved what could have been an overpass and delivered nectar on the right with one hand to outside hitter Aiyana Whit-
bara High coach who helped launch Kiraly’s legendary career.
“I think maybe then is when it started for me,” Olmstead told the audience at the AVCA awards luncheon. “Just being a little boy who wanted to be like his dad.” Olmstead led Brigham Young to a 30-5 record in 2014, falling to Penn State in the championship match of the Division I tourna- ment. It was only his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater where he played on two national championship teams as a libero for the Cougars’ men’s team (2001, 2004). Olmstead said one of the best moves he made as a head coach was hiring his sister, Heather, as his top assistant. He calls her a
ney, who ripped it.
Hancock, who graduated in December, got a look from the U.S. Women’s National Team in January. She was among an elite group of players who were invited to be part of a two-week training block in the USA gym. Other participants from the NCAA semifinalists were Hamson, two Penn State freshmen – middle blocker Haleigh Wash- ington and outside hitter Ali Frantti – and Stanford junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku. The U.S. team is already deep at the setter position, but U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly says Hancock has earned her shot. “As a left-handed setter, she presents a
different option,” Kiraly says. “And her serve
superior coach. Together the Olmsteads have taken the Brigham Young program to new heights, reaching the title match for the first time in the program’s history. The Cougars reached the national semifinals in 1993. Olmstead’s teams have emphasized de- fense in his short tenure, leading all Division I teams in blocks per set in 2014. Kiraly was happy to see Shawn Olsmtead follow in his father’s footsteps. “Rick (Olm- stead) has been so influential in my career. Such a good coach for a long time and a great referee for a long time,” says Kiraly. “The Olmstead family has meant a lot to the sport of volleyball. I’m really happy for Shawn and for the BYU program.”
is interesting. I don’t know if it will translate (to the international game), but she’s a win- ner, and we need to take a look at her.”
COURTNEY’S CLINIC For Courtney, a lean 6-2 with a whip of an arm, it was a career weekend in Oklahoma City. Rose says that she has been a huge fac- tor for Penn State for a long time — a six-ro- tation player who possesses the team’s “best volleyball IQ.” But she hasn’t always been at the top of her game in the biggest matches. A year ago, in Penn State’s five-set win over Stanford in the 2013 regional finals, she hit .000 (9 kills, 9 errors). She bounced back the following week in PSU’s semifinal rout of
See CHAMPIONSHIP, Page 51
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