PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s volleyball head coach Heather Olmstead announced Thursday that she will be transitioning out of her role as head coach of the BYU women’s volleyball team to pursue new professional avenues.

“Coaching at BYU has been an incredible chapter — one filled with championships, NCAA tournament runs and record-setting seasons,” Olmstead said. “But the true highlight has always been the people. I’m grateful for every athlete who let me be part of her journey and for the chance to help shape strong leaders, teammates and women who go on to make a difference long after their playing days. As I move into this next chapter, I do so with deep gratitude for the BYU community, for the players who trusted me with their development and for the staff who stood beside me through every challenge. I wish this program continued success, and I’m excited for what’s next.”

Olmstead took over the BYU women’s volleyball program in the 2015 season. In 11 seasons, Olmstead amassed a record of 279-55. She’s the fastest coach to reach 200 Division I wins, doing so in just 225 games, and also the third-fastest coach all-time to reach 100 Division I wins, doing so in just 111 games.

“I want to thank Heather for everything she has done to make BYU women’s volleyball great,” said BYU director of athletics Brian Santiago. “She poured her heart and soul into this program and guided incredible teams that have had consistent national relevance and success and represented BYU well. Her student-athletes have gone on to do remarkable things. We wish Heather all the best as she pursues new opportunities, and we will open a national search for a new women’s volleyball head coach immediately.”

The 2018 AVCA National Coach of the Year, Olmstead and her staff’s development of players has led to 14 different All-Americans, 23 different All-Region honorees, nine different All-Big 12 honorees and 22 different All-WCC honorees in addition to a national player of the year candidate, the 2018 AVCA National Freshman of the Year and multiple West Coast Conference awardees.

Olmstead led the 2018 team to one of the greatest seasons in program history, ranking No. 1 for 11-consecutive weeks as they won their first 27 matches, including against then-No. 1 Stanford. BYU was awarded its highest-ever NCAA Tournament seed at No. 4, then reeled off wins against Stony Brook, Utah, Florida and Texas in front of standing-room-only crowds at the Smith Fieldhouse to advance to the Final Four before falling to eventual champion Stanford in the national semifinals.

BYU’s 30-2 (.939) record in 2021 led to the highest win percentage in program history and a No. 9 final national ranking. Other program records included six All-Americans, six All-Region citations, five All-WCC honorees, three Academic All-District awardees and one Academic All-American in addition to national coach and freshman of the year awards and sweeps of the region and conference awards. The Cougars finished the season ranked No. 1 in defensive hitting percentage and No. 3 in hitting percentage after ranking first most of the season.

Olmstead led BYU to Sweet 16 appearances six times as well as six WCC titles. The Cougars have won at least 19 matches each year (17 during COVID-19) during her time as head coach. Olmstead has also contributed internationally, including serving as head coach of the U.S. Women’s U21 National Team that won gold at both the 2025 NORCECA Pan American Cup and the 2024 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship, the U.S. Collegiate National Team in Japan in May 2019 and as the assistant coach on the U.S. team that won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games. 

With Olmstead’s departure, BYU women’s volleyball associate head coach David Hyte will now serve as interim head coach.

LINCOLN – The No. 3 seed Texas A&M volleyball team faces No. 2 seed Louisville in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Friday evening at the Bob Devaney Sports Center with first serve set for 6 p.m.
 
The Aggies secured back-to-back appearances in the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history following wins over Campbell and No. 6 seed TCU in the opening two rounds.
 

In the first match of the weekend, the Maroon & White put on a dominant showing versus the Camels ensuring their 16^th sweep of the year. The offense put on an efficiency clinic, as the group hit .419 percent which marked the third time this you over .400. Individually, both Logan Lednicky and Emily Hellmuth broke the programs postseason record for hitting percentage in a three-set match which stood at .650 previously, as Lednicky recorded 18 kills at .654 percent and Hellmuth 10 at .667.
 

The following day Texas A&M faced TCU in a four-set battle with every set being decided by three or less points. The Horned Frogs struck first the opening frame, but the Aggies rallied back to win the next three. Thriving under pressure was the key to the Maroon & White’s win, as they survived five set points in the deciding fourth frame to seal their spot in the Sweet 16.
 
The Matchups

Friday’s matchup versus Louisville will be the eighth all-time meeting between the programs. Texas A&M holds a strong advantage in the series at 5-2, however the Cardinals captured the most recent matchup taking a five-set victory on their home court in 2019.
 

The teams will meet in a neutral setting for the fourth time, where once again the Maroon & White have a small lead in the meetings at 2-1. During the 2025 campaign the Aggies are 3-1 on a neutral court and Louisville is 2-1.
 

Diving into the stat sheet, Texas A&M holds the advantage in four of the seven team statical categories leading in kills per set, assists per set, hitting percentage and aces per set, while the Cardinals hold the advantage in opponent hitting percentage, blocks per set and digs per set.
 
Tracks and Trends
Logan Lednicky has recorded double-digit kills in her last 19 matches and sits 23 kills away from No. 3 on Texas A&M’s career kill list.
 
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla has logged five or more blocks in her last three games and is 11 blocks away from ranking third on the programs all-time block list.
 
The Aggies have hit over .300 percent as a unit seven times in their last 10 contests.
 
Streaming & Stats
Fans can watch the match on the ESPN2 and follow stats on 12thman.com.
 
Follow the Aggies
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Scottie Ellsworth of the Central Washington University volleyball team was selected to the AVCA Division II All-America Team as an Honorable Mention, the association announced on Wednesday.
 
Ellsworth was honored among eight total representatives from the GNAC.
 
Ellsworth, the senior right-side hitter from Kent, Wash., led the Wildcats on the offensive side this season with 333 kills for an average of 3.03 per set. She also was a strong presence on the defensive side–logging 107 total blocks, as well as 54 digs. Ellsworth had milestone a game this season–recording a career-high 24 kills on Nov. 15 against Alaska Anchorage and also tying her career-high seven blocks in that same game against the Seawolves.
 
Ellsworth’s efforts led the Wildcats to a share of the GNAC regular season title and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the first-round matchup against the Simon Fraser Red Leafs, Ellsworth led the offense with 19 kills on 47 total attempts for a .319 hitting percentage, while also recording five blocks and three digs as the Wildcats defeated SFU to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA West Regional. Ellsworth followed that up with a strong performance in Regional Semifinals, logging 18 kills, six blocks, and six digs. However, the Wildcats would fall in a closely-battled fifth set that saw Fresno Pacific win 15-13 to take the match and end CWU’s season.
 
Ellsworth, alongside Ellie Marble, earned All-West Regional Tournament Team. In the West Regional, Ellsworth recorded 37 kills, 11 blocks, and seven digs for a total points count of 43, while Marble logged 20 kills, 34 digs, and seven blocks, recording a double-double in each contest.
 
For the full AVCA All-America list, click HERE.
 

10:46 pm ETShare this update

Bianka Lulic changes game for Purdue volleyball vs SMU

The middle had been an issue defensively at the net, but not when 6-foot-5 Bianka Lulic checked in during this third set. She already has three blocks as Purdue has retaken the lead, 22-20, and forces an SMU timeout.

10:43 pm ETShare this update

Purdue volleyball takes lead briefly in third set vs SMU

The Boilers scored four of five points to take an 18-17 lead but SMU has responded with a pair of points to lead 19-18 and force a timeout by Dave Shondell.

10:37 pm ETShare this update

Purdue volleyball score vs SMU in third set

We’re at the midway point, errr media timeout, in the third set with SMU taking a 15-13 lead. Purdue is hitting .308 (10-2-26) in the set but needs to get more from its middles. Lindsey Miller and Dior Charles are hitting at negative rates.

SMU is hitting .409 (11-2-22) this set.

10:35 pm ETShare this update

Purdue volleyball out of challenges

Dave Shondell goes 0-for-2 in challenge attempts after losing another in the third set. Something to keep in mind through the fourth set. He’ll get another in the fifth should we need a fifth.

Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas pin hitter Grace Nelson celebrates with her teammates against Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 in Lawrence.

No one has beaten this year’s Nebraska team yet. The Cornhuskers are 32-0 and have lost one set — not one match, but one set — in their previous 23 matches.

But Nebraska as a program is certainly not unbeatable, and Kansas coach Matt Ulmer is proof: In his very first match as a head coach, back in 2017, his Oregon Ducks took down the Huskers in four sets at a neutral site.

“I actually joked about that after that match, maybe I should just be done, be 1-0,” Ulmer recalled on Tuesday. “Nebraska won the championship that year, but we beat them in the first match. It was funny.”

Later, in 2022, the Ducks did it again, outlasting the Huskers in five sets, this time in the postseason.

But neither of those matches was the choice for Ulmer to show to his team on Monday. Instead, he opted to put on a battle against Minnesota in 2018 in which an Oregon team with a very comparable background to the 2025 Jayhawks entered as the No. 15 overall seed and knocked off the second-ranked Gophers in Minneapolis.

The four-set victory featured a 41-39 marathon second game that went the way of the Ducks, helping to get at one of the points Ulmer wanted to illustrate to his team.

“I wanted them to see just how that Oregon team just played point for point,” he said. “… We made bad plays and things went against us and things were good for us, but we just kept going. And I thought that was something that we’re going to have to have (in Nebraska). Also, I wanted them to understand that they should be believing in themselves.”

Plenty of self-belief will be required when the Jayhawks meet the top-ranked Cornhuskers at 8:30 p.m. on Friday in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Granted, visiting the Devaney Center — and experiencing its sold-out crowds — won’t be new for this group of Jayhawks, or at least most of them. KU had the chance to play a spring match at Nebraska and lost all four sets it played, although it was before the Jayhawks brought in their three key international players and the Cornhuskers added opposite hitters Allie Sczech and Virginia Adriano.

“I think that was a really good test for us,” Ulmer said. “I think that was a big part of our growth, was going and playing in that match, even though we didn’t win sets necessarily, but seeing what it’s going to take, what that life is going to be like of playing tough teams in tough environments, was really, really important for us. I think it definitely carried over to the season.”

The Jayhawks, of course, weathered some bumps in the road in nonconference play, including a series of five-set losses to high-level teams. They went on to finish second in the Big 12 despite enduring a pair of late-season sweeps on a road trip to Utah, earned a hosting spot, and beat High Point and Miami to reach the Sweet 16.

Nebraska, meanwhile, has dominated nearly every opponent it has faced in its first season under head coach Dani Busboom Kelly, who took over for four-time national champion John Cook.

“Dani, I think, was absolutely the right choice,” Ulmer said, “and I think she’s brought them an even kind of different confidence and swagger, maybe.”

The Huskers have gone to five sets twice: against Kentucky in Nashville, Tennessee, on Aug. 31, and on the road at Creighton on Sept. 16. They have lost one set at home all season, to Utah on Sept. 12. Long Island and Kansas State were their victims in the first two rounds of the tournament.

Nebraska is an evidently well-rounded team on which nine players have played at least 87 sets (of the team’s total 103), and the engine of the Cornhuskers’ offense is junior setter Bergen Reilly, the Big Ten’s player and setter of the year who averages 10.42 assists and 2.72 digs per set.

She is feeding several of the nation’s most productive offensive threats, led by outside hitter Harper Murray, a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American averaging 3.10 kills per set on .299 hitting. In all, Nebraska is the national leader in hitting percentage at .353, with a big boost from efficient middle blockers Rebekah Allick (2.53 kills, .437 hitting) and Andi Jackson (2.79, .483).

Defensively, meanwhile, the Huskers allow the lowest opponent hitting percentage. Allick and Jackson combine for 2.44 blocks per set. Libero Laney Choboy leads the way in the digs column with 2.73 per set.

AP Photo/Mac Johnson

Nebraska’s Harper Murray digs the ball during an NCAA college volleyball match against California, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb.

AP Photo/Mac Johnson

Nebraska’s Rebekah Allick (5), Bergen Reilly (2) and Virginia Adriano (9) celebrate after a point during an NCAA college volleyball match against California, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb.

Ulmer is impressed by the Huskers’ collective mentality.

“They never look bothered, right?” he said. “It’s very hard to rattle them. I just think they have such a belief in what they’re doing, in themselves. They’re so seasoned and experienced. I mean, yes, they have athletes that are freaky athletes and high-ranked recruits and all those things, but it’s really just how bonded they are right now, and that’s going to take a mighty effort to crack that.”

However, “it could be interesting,” he added, if the Jayhawks can find a way to apply some level of pressure to Nebraska, which it really hasn’t had to face very often in 2025.

A note on ‘JZ’

Jovana Zelenović, KU’s standout 6-foot-7 opposite hitter who on Tuesday was named the AVCA’s freshman of the year for the Central Region, played through a back injury against Miami that she had suffered the day before. The match against the Hurricanes wasn’t her best offensive showing, as she recorded six kills in four sets with her second-lowest hitting percentage of the year, but she still found ways to contribute.

“I wouldn’t say our team in general handles that adversity great,” Ulmer said. “I think you know when they’re sick, you know when they’re hurting. I’ve had teams where it’s like you had no idea, they wouldn’t let you know. But I was proud of her because again, this time of year, everybody’s got something going on … Even though we didn’t use her offense a ton in that match, her serving was very impactful.”

Having the highly touted rookie, producer of 2.88 kills and 0.96 blocks per set (plus 46 aces on the season), close to full strength will be key to threatening Nebraska.

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Written By Henry Greenstein

Henry is the sports editor at the Lawrence Journal-World and KUsports.com, and serves as the KU beat writer while managing day-to-day sports coverage. He previously worked as a sports reporter at The Bakersfield Californian and is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis (B.A., Linguistics) and Arizona State University (M.A., Sports Journalism). Though a native of Los Angeles, he has frequently been told he does not give off “California vibes,” whatever that means.

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