COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — BYU women’s volleyball head coach Heather Olmstead has been named the U.S. Women’s U21 National Team head coach, USA Volleyball announced this afternoon.
“Coaching for USA volleyball is one of the highest honors in our sport,” Olmstead said. “It’s a humbling opportunity for me to learn from some of the best coaches and players in the United States. Karch Kiraly and his staff have done an incredible job with the culture and performance of USA Volleyball. The chance to lead any USA team is an honor. I'm very grateful and excited to have the opportunity to work with this talented group of athletes and staff.”
Olmstead will lead the American squad in this summer’s NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship, competition that will serve as a qualifier for the 2025 FIVB World Championship.
The Continental Championship will be held in Toronto, Canada from June 23 through July 1st, with training held June 14-22 in Anaheim, California.
Olmstead will be joined by assistant coaches Alex Dunhpy (Stanford), former BYU men’s volleyball alumni Jalen Reyes (Nebraska), performance analyst Virginia Pham (USC), athletic trainer Rachel Menze (CSUN) and team leader Courtney Smith.
Working with USA Volleyball in various capacities previously, Olmstead has also served as an assistant coach for the 2023 Collegiate National Team (CNT), 2022 U21 team, 2020 CNT Gold Team and gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Named the AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2018, Olmstead has a 213-29 (.880) record in eight seasons at BYU. She currently has the highest winning percentage of any women's volleyball coach in NCAA Division I history, and is also the fastest coach to reach 200 wins, doing so in just 225 games.
Under her leadership, BYU has reached the NCAA Tournament every year, including a Final Four appearance in 2018, six Sweet 16 runs and six West Coast Conference championships.
Learn more about the U21 National Team and the NORCECA Continental Championship at the USA Volleyball website.