PROVO, Utah – BYU women's volleyball coach Heather Olmstead has been named associate head coach, the program announced Wednesday.
"Heather has been an integral part of our success and improvement here at BYU," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "She has an unrivaled work ethic and a desire to improve personally in all she does to better assist our team. Her desire to improve is constant and it shows in all she works toward. She understands this profession and also understands the life of a student-athlete. I'm honored to work so closely with Heather and as a team, we are fortunate to have her on our side."
Olmstead, previously an assistant coach for the Cougars, has been with the team since her brother, Shawn, took over as head coach in 2011. Before arriving at BYU, Olmstead was an assistant coach at Utah from 2006-10 and at her alma mater Utah State from 2003-05. With the Utes, she helped coach her 2008 squad to a regional semifinals NCAA tournament appearance and a Mountain West Conference title. Additionally, Olmstead served as head coach of the Intermountain Volleyball Association High Performance team in 2006 as well as the 2010 IVA HP Select Team in Florida.
As a player, Olmstead was the starting libero during her four seasons at Utah State. She set a single-season dig record in addition to recording the second-most career digs in Aggie women's volleyball history. During her 2001 senior season, she helped her squad to a second-round NCAA tournament finish and a No. 21 final ranking. Following graduation, Olmstead was the only libero selected on the 2002-03 United States Professional Volleyball Team. She additionally played for the European Professional Volleyball League in 2003.
In 2014, Olmstead helped coach the Cougars to a 30-5 overall record, a West Coast Conference title, a trip to the national championship match for the first time in school history and BYU's highest-ever final ranking at No. 3. In her four seasons with the Cougars, Olmstead has helped amass a 103-25 overall record as well as three-straight regional semifinal NCAA tournament appearances.