BYU Cougars women's volleyball

Last updated
BYU Cougars women's volleyball
BYU Cougars logo.svg
Founded1969
University Brigham Young University
Athletic director Brian Santiago
Head coach Heather Olmstead (11th season)
Conference Big 12
Location Provo, Utah
Home arena George Albert Smith Fieldhouse (capacity: 5,000)
Nickname Cougars
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).

Contents

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

NameCareerRecordPct.
Elaine Michaelis1969–2001705–178–5.798
Karen Lamb2002–200457–39.594
Jason Watson2005–200774–18.804
Shay Goulding2008–201043–42.506
Shawn Olmstead 2011–2014103–25.805
Heather Olmstead 2015–2025279–55.835

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
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Elaine Michaelis (Intermountain Conference of College Women Physical Education)(1969–1971)
1969Elaine Michaelis 19–314–01st DGWS First Round
1970Elaine Michaelis 22–28–01st DGWS First Round
1971Elaine Michaelis 11–28–01st DGWS First Round
Elaine Michaelis (Intermountain Athletic Conference)(1972–1981)
1972Elaine Michaelis 20–28–01st AIAW Runner-up
1973Elaine Michaelis 18–38–01st AIAW First Round
1974Elaine Michaelis 22–411–11st AIAW First Round
1975Elaine Michaelis 29–3–113–01st AIAW First Round
1976Elaine Michaelis 31–4–112–01st AIAW First Round
1977Elaine Michaelis 34–512–01st AIAW Final Four
1978Elaine Michaelis 29–169–33rd AIAW First Round
1979Elaine Michaelis 21–17–38–22nd AIAW First Round
1980Elaine Michaelis 29–138–22nd—
1981Elaine Michaelis 32–1010–01st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Elaine Michaelis (High Country Athletic Conference)(1982–1989)
1982Elaine Michaelis 33–910–01st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1983Elaine Michaelis 29–79–11st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1984Elaine Michaelis 33–149–32nd NCAA First Round
1985Elaine Michaelis 34–1010–22nd NCAA Elite Eight
1986Elaine Michaelis 40–312–01st NCAA Elite Eight
1987Elaine Michaelis 34–511–11st NCAA Elite Eight
1988Elaine Michaelis 26–119–32nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1989Elaine Michaelis 24–1110–22nd—
Elaine Michaelis (Western Athletic Conference)(1990–1998)
1990Elaine Michaelis 26–89–11st NCAA First Round
1991Elaine Michaelis 26–510–22nd NCAA First Round
1992Elaine Michaelis 29–414–01st NCAA Elite Eight
1993Elaine Michaelis 29–314–01st NCAA Final Four
1994Elaine Michaelis 25–413–11st NCAA Second Round
1995Elaine Michaelis 21–911–32nd NCAA Second Round
1996Elaine Michaelis 27–715–11st NCAA Elite Eight
1997Elaine Michaelis 29–613–11st NCAA Elite Eight
1998Elaine Michaelis 31–413–11st NCAA Elite Eight
Elaine Michaelis (Mountain West Conference)(1999–2001)
1999Elaine Michaelis 28–513–11st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2000Elaine Michaelis 26–713–61st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2001Elaine Michaelis 20–910–43rd NCAA First Round
Elaine Michaelis:705–178–5269–24
Karen Lamb (Mountain West Conference)(2002–2004)
2002Karen Lamb 14–197–74th—
2003Karen Lamb 24–910–43rd NCAA Second Round
2004Karen Lamb 19–119–53rd—
Karen Lamb:57–3919–9
Jason Watson (Mountain West Conference)(2005–2007)
2005Jason Watson 25–414–21st NCAA First Round
2006Jason Watson 25–613–32nd NCAA Second Round
2007Jason Watson 24–818–42nd NCAA Elite Eight
Jason Watson:74–1845–9
Shay Goulding (Mountain West Conference)(2008–2010)
2008Shay Goulding 14–127–96th—
2009Shay Goulding 15–149–75th—
2010Shay Goulding 14–169–74th—
Shay Goulding:43–4225–23
Shawn Olmstead (West Coast Conference)(2011–2014)
2011Shawn Olmstead 21–910–63rd—
2012Shawn Olmstead 28–413–31st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2013Shawn Olmstead 24–715–32nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014 Shawn Olmstead 30–516–21st NCAA Runner-up
Shawn Olmstead:103–2554–14
Heather Olmstead (West Coast Conference)(2015–2022)
2015 Heather Olmstead 28–416–21st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2016 Heather Olmstead 29–416–21st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2017 Heather Olmstead 30–317–11st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2019 Heather Olmstead 26–516–22nd NCAA Second Round
2020 Heather Olmstead 17–215–11st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2021 Heather Olmstead 30–218–01st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2022 Heather Olmstead 22–715–32nd NCAA Second Round
Heather Olmstead:213–29130–12
Heather Olmstead (Big 12 Conference)(2023–2025)
2023 Heather Olmstead 25–713–53rd NCAA Second Round
2024Heather Olmstead 19–1012–66th NCAA First Round
2025Heather Olmstead 22–910–86th NCAA First Round
Heather Olmstead:25–735–19
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. 1 2 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.
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