BYU Cougars women's volleyball

BYU Cougars women's volleyball
Founded1969
UniversityBrigham Young University
Athletic directorBrian Santiago
Head coachRob Neilson (1st season)
ConferenceBig 12
LocationProvo, Utah, US
Home arenaGeorge Albert Smith Fieldhouse (capacity: 5,000)
NicknameCougars
ColorsBlue and white[1]
   
AIAW/NCAA tournament runner-up
1972, 2014
AIAW/NCAA tournament semifinal
1972, 1977, 1993, 2014, 2018
AIAW/NCAA Regional Final
1972, 1977, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2014, 2018
AIAW/NCAA regional semifinal
1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
AIAW/NCAA tournament appearance
1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Conference tournament champion
Western Athletic Conference
1996, 1997
Mountain West Conference
2000
Conference regular season champion
Intermountain Conference of College Women Physical Education
1969, 1970, 1971
Intermountain Athletic Conference
1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981
High Country Athletic Conference
1982, 1983, 1986, 1987
Western Athletic Conference
1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998
Mountain West Conference
1999, 2000, 2005
West Coast Conference
2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021

The BYU Cougars women's volleyball team is the women's college volleyball program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began female collegiate volleyball competition in 1969 and have won 32 conference championships and have been national runners up twice (1972 and 2014).

History

BYU's women's volleyball team first took the court in 1956, but official records began to be kept in 1969, with the team playfully known as the "Spikettes."[2] From 1961 to 2001, the team was coached by Elaine Michaelis, during which time she simultaneously coached women's basketball, field hockey, and softball at one point. She was the first female coach in the nation to take a team to the NCAA Final Four (1981), and she led the team to 28 consecutive 20-win seasons. The court at the Smith Fieldhouse was named in her honor in 2005.[3] In 1993, the team became the first BYU team to qualify for the NCAA Final Four. In 2014, it finished as the NCAA tournament runner-up, and in 2018 the program attained its highest season win percentage of .939.[2]

As of 2024, the Cougars have been ranked in the AVCA Division I WVB Coaches Poll 490 times (.761) since it was started in 1984, including 198 Top 10 rankings and 15 rankings at #1. The team has finished their season ranked 33 times, including 15 times in the Top 10 and 5 times in the Top 5. The Cougars also finished ranked #1 for the 1986 season despite being eliminated during the Elite Eight round of that year's NCAA tournament.[4]

Venue

The Cougars play at the Smith Fieldhouse, which is the seventh largest venue for college volleyball in the United States.[5] The team's largest home game attendance on record was 5,528 in 2023 against rival Utah.[6]

Coaches

Name Career Record Pct.
Elaine Michaelis 1969–2001 705–178–5 .798
Karen Lamb 2002–2004 57–39 .594
Jason Watson 2005–2007 74–18 .804
Shay Goulding 2008–2010 43–42 .506
Shawn Olmstead 2011–2014 103–25 .805
Heather Olmstead 2015–2025 279–55 .835
Rob Neilson 2026– 0–0 –

Two coaches have been named the AVCA National Coach of the Year: Shawn Olmstead (2014) and Heather Olmstead (2018).[7]

Players

BYU has had 40 All-Americans in women's volleyball, which ranks 10th all-time among Division I programs.[8] Mariliisa Salmi was the AVCA National Player of the Year for 1986.[9]

After college, many players have gone on to play on national and professional club teams, including Charlene Johnson-Tagaloa who was setter for the United States national team at the 2000 Summer Olympics that placed fourth.[10]

Results by season

Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Elaine Michaelis (Intermountain Conference of College Women Physical Education) (1969–1971)
1969 Elaine Michaelis 19–3 14–0 1st DGWS First Round
1970 Elaine Michaelis 22–2 8–0 1st DGWS First Round
1971 Elaine Michaelis 11–2 8–0 1st DGWS First Round
Elaine Michaelis (Intermountain Athletic Conference) (1972–1981)
1972 Elaine Michaelis 20–2 8–0 1st AIAW Runner-up
1973 Elaine Michaelis 18–3 8–0 1st AIAW First Round
1974 Elaine Michaelis 22–4 11–1 1st AIAW First Round
1975 Elaine Michaelis 29–3–1 13–0 1st AIAW First Round
1976 Elaine Michaelis 31–4–1 12–0 1st AIAW First Round
1977 Elaine Michaelis 34–5 12–0 1st AIAW Final Four
1978 Elaine Michaelis 29–16 9–3 3rd AIAW First Round
1979 Elaine Michaelis 21–17–3 8–2 2nd AIAW First Round
1980 Elaine Michaelis 29–13 8–2 2nd —
1981 Elaine Michaelis 32–10 10–0 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Elaine Michaelis (High Country Athletic Conference) (1982–1989)
1982 Elaine Michaelis 33–9 10–0 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1983 Elaine Michaelis 29–7 9–1 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1984 Elaine Michaelis 33–14 9–3 2nd NCAA First Round
1985 Elaine Michaelis 34–10 10–2 2nd NCAA Elite Eight
1986 Elaine Michaelis 40–3 12–0 1st NCAA Elite Eight
1987 Elaine Michaelis 34–5 11–1 1st NCAA Elite Eight
1988 Elaine Michaelis 26–11 9–3 2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1989 Elaine Michaelis 24–11 10–2 2nd —
Elaine Michaelis (Western Athletic Conference) (1990–1998)
1990 Elaine Michaelis 26–8 9–1 1st NCAA First Round
1991 Elaine Michaelis 26–5 10–2 2nd NCAA First Round
1992 Elaine Michaelis 29–4 14–0 1st NCAA Elite Eight
1993 Elaine Michaelis 29–3 14–0 1st NCAA Final Four
1994 Elaine Michaelis 25–4 13–1 1st NCAA Second Round
1995 Elaine Michaelis 21–9 11–3 2nd NCAA Second Round
1996 Elaine Michaelis 27–7 15–1 1st NCAA Elite Eight
1997 Elaine Michaelis 29–6 13–1 1st NCAA Elite Eight
1998 Elaine Michaelis 31–4 13–1 1st NCAA Elite Eight
Elaine Michaelis (Mountain West Conference) (1999–2001)
1999 Elaine Michaelis 28–5 13–1 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2000 Elaine Michaelis 26–7 13–6 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2001 Elaine Michaelis 20–9 10–4 3rd NCAA First Round
Elaine Michaelis: 705–178–5 269–24
Karen Lamb (Mountain West Conference) (2002–2004)
2002 Karen Lamb 14–19 7–7 4th —
2003 Karen Lamb 24–9 10–4 3rd NCAA Second Round
2004 Karen Lamb 19–11 9–5 3rd —
Karen Lamb: 57–39 19–9
Jason Watson (Mountain West Conference) (2005–2007)
2005 Jason Watson 25–4 14–2 1st NCAA First Round
2006 Jason Watson 25–6 13–3 2nd NCAA Second Round
2007 Jason Watson 24–8 18–4 2nd NCAA Elite Eight
Jason Watson: 74–18 45–9
Shay Goulding (Mountain West Conference) (2008–2010)
2008 Shay Goulding 14–12 7–9 6th —
2009 Shay Goulding 15–14 9–7 5th —
2010 Shay Goulding 14–16 9–7 4th —
Shay Goulding: 43–42 25–23
Shawn Olmstead (West Coast Conference) (2011–2014)
2011 Shawn Olmstead 21–9 10–6 3rd —
2012 Shawn Olmstead 28–4 13–3 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2013 Shawn Olmstead 24–7 15–3 2nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014 Shawn Olmstead 30–5 16–2 1st NCAA Runner-up
Shawn Olmstead: 103–25 54–14
Heather Olmstead (West Coast Conference) (2015–2022)
2015 Heather Olmstead 28–4 16–2 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2016 Heather Olmstead 29–4 16–2 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2017 Heather Olmstead 30–3 17–1 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2019 Heather Olmstead 26–5 16–2 2nd NCAA Second Round
2020 Heather Olmstead 17–2 15–1 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2021 Heather Olmstead 30–2 18–0 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2022 Heather Olmstead 22–7 15–3 2nd NCAA Second Round
Heather Olmstead: 213–29 130–12
Heather Olmstead (Big 12 Conference) (2023–2025)
2023 Heather Olmstead 25–7 13–5 3rd NCAA Second Round
2024 Heather Olmstead 19–10 12–6 6th NCAA First Round
2025 Heather Olmstead 22–9 10–8 6th NCAA First Round
Heather Olmstead: 25–7 35–19
Rob Neilson (Big 12 Conference) (2026–present)
2026 Rob Neilson 0–0 0–0
Rob Neilson: 0–0 0–0
Total: 1,443–404–5

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ "Colors". Brigham Young University Publications and Graphics. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Jorgensen, Ashley. "50 facts for 50 years of making women's volleyball history". Daily Universe. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  3. ^ Harper, Mitch. "Elaine Michaelis, BYU Women's Sports Pioneer, Dies At 86". KSL. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  4. ^ "AVCA Division I WVB Poll Archives". American Volleyball Coaches Association. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  5. ^ Myers, Jacob. "9 of the largest arenas in women's college volleyball". NCAA. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Attendance Records". BYU. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  7. ^ "2024 AVCA NCAA Division I Coaches of the Year". American Volleyball Coaches Association. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  8. ^ "All-Americans". BYU. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  9. ^ "2023 AVCA NCAA Division I Player of the Year". American Volleyball Coaches Association. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Charlene Tagaloa Biography and Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYU_Cougars_women%27s_volleyball