The Olmsteads Take Over BYU Volleyball

Last season, the BYU Women’s Volleyball team enjoyed their most successful season in program history, reaching the title game of the NCAA Tournament.  The impressive rise of the Cougars has led to a new opportunity for Head Coach Shawn Olmstead, and it will also benefit his sister Heather.

Shawn Olmstead has led the women’s program at BYU since 2011, and has led them on a dominant run that included three trips to the Sweet Sixteen and last year’s trip to the title game.  He will stay in Provo and become the new coach of the men’s program, and the Cougars hope he can take some of his success with the women and carry it over to his new job.  The men experienced a down year last season after reaching back-to-back Final Fours.  Head Coach Chris McGown stepped down after the 2015 season to focus on his family and other opportunities.

The women’s program will not be left out in the cold however, as Shawn’s replacement has close ties to the program and Shawn himself.  Heather Olmstead is his sister, and has also been with BYU since 2011.  She has been the Associate Head Coach since early 2014.  You can’t get much smoother of a transition than having the sibling of the old coach slide into the head role after being an integral part of the program’s growth.

The women should continue to be a dominant force in the WCC under Heather.  They will return a number of key players this season from last year’s national runner-up team, and no coaching strategies or recruiting efforts should be drastically altered with such a smooth transition.

Now the Olmsteads have quite a feather in their cap as having complete control of the program, and both squads should continue to be among the best in the nation.