1989 BYU Hall of Fame Inductee
A native of Safford, Arizona, where she was all-state for three years, Karen Curtis Lamb was the first recipient of a BYU volleyball athletic grant and BYU's first All-America volleyball player.
During her four years at BYU, her Cougar teams lost only one conference match, won four conference titles, had an overall win-loss record of 89.2 percent, and placed in the top 10 in four AIAW national championships.
At the close of her collegiate career in 1978, Karen held four school records. In her junior year she earned a .594 kill percentage in 22 matches, a BYU record. In a match against Weber State in 1976, she served 15 straight points.
Karen's professional career has continued this winning tradition: assistant coach at BYU; head coach and SID at Central Arizona Junior College (105-29 record; national team championship, 1983; NJCAA Coach of the Year; District II Coach of the Year; and CVCA Coach of the year); head coach at UNLV (within a year of its formation, her team missed reaching the NCAAs by only one position); and head coach at Washington State (during her three-year tenure she earned WSU's first winning volleyball record in 10 years).