4/13/01
Jerritt Elliott named Longhorn women's volleyball coach
AUSTIN,
Texas -- Jerritt Elliott, former interim head women's volleyball
coach at the University of Southern California who led USC to the 2000
NCAA Tournament semifinals and who had the No. 1 rated recruiting classes
in the nation the last two years, has been named the women's volleyball
head coach at The University of Texas. The announcement was made Friday
morning, April 13, by Chris Plonsky, Texas Senior Associate Athletics
Director for Men's and Women's Athletics, who currently oversees the
women's athletics director duties at UT.
Elliott's
contract with Texas calls for a multi-year agreement. His appointment
becomes effective immediately. Specific terms of his contract are unannounced.
Elliott, 32, replaces former UT head coach Jim Moore, who resigned on
March 9, 2001 following four years as Longhorn volleyball head coach.
This
past season as Southern Cal interim head coach, Elliott led the Women
of Troy to their first NCAA Tournament final four appearance in 15 years
and to USC's first-ever share of the Pac-10 title. USC also finished
the season ranked No. 4 nationally by both the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine.
USC compiled a 50-12 record under Elliott in these two years, going
29-3 last fall en route to the NCAA semifinals, and 21-9 in 1999. Both
years, Elliott was honored as the Pac-10 Conference Coach of the Year
and was the 2000 Pacific Region Coach of the Year. In 1999, USC was
picked to finish seventh in the Pac-10 race before finishing the year
third in the conference; in 2000, the squad was picked third before
tying for the conference championship with Arizona. Under the leadership
of Elliott, the Trojans featured two All-Americans in 2000 (April Ross
and Jennifer Pahl) and six all-conference players, including the Pac-10
and Region Freshman of the Year (Ross).
In
both 2000 and 2001, Elliott's recruiting class has been regarded as
No. 1 in the nation. The USC women's volleyball program landed the nation's
top recruiting classes in these last two years, according to Volleyball
Magazine and Student Sports Magazine. These are USC's first-ever No.
1 recruiting classes in history.
Elliott
spent the last six years at USC (1995-2001), the last two years as interim
head coach and a four-year term as assistant coach. Elliott accepted
the interim head position in 1999 and 2000 in the absence of Mick Haley,
who was serving as the USA National Team head coach through the 2000
Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Haley was Texas volleyball head coach
for 17 years (from 1980-96) prior to taking his USA Volleyball coaching
assignment.
Elliott
also was named the USA Junior National Team Head Coach for the summer
of 2001, but will relinquish that role with USA Volleyball due to his
appointment at UT.
"It
is with tremendous pleasure that I accept the University of Texas volleyball
head coach position," stated Elliott. "I am extremely enthusiastic
about coming to Texas, which is considered one of the prominent volleyball
programs in the country. During my interview process in Austin, I was
impressed by the full package of opportunities which exist at UT --
outstanding academics, a tremendous support staff, great facilities,
the fan support, and the city of Austin itself, coupled with a strong
state-wide recruiting base. There is so much to offer student-athletes
at this premier university. It was readily apparent that volleyball
is very important at this University. There is a great tradition of
national championship volleyball success at Texas, and I look forward
to building on this."
"We
are thrilled to announce the hiring of Jerritt Elliott," stated
Plonsky. "His name came up repeatedly when we targeted the top
bright, young coaches in the country. Jerritt brings a tremendous background
of volleyball recruiting and coaching success to UT and to the Big 12
Conference as well. In Jerritt, we have a coach and leader who has proven
he can recruit at the highest level and train elite athletes to compete
for championships."
In
2000, USC made its first NCAA "final four" appearance in 15
years while making its 10th consecutive national tourney showing. Elliott's
squad also had a school-record 38-game win streak to begin the season
en route to its 29-3 match record.
Elliott
led the 1999 squad to unexpected success in his rookie season as a collegiate
head coach. The 1999 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Elliott became just the
second head coach in Pac-10 history to post 13 league wins in his first
season. Leading USC to a 13-5 (.722) Pac-10 record, he recorded the
best-ever winning percentage by a first-year coach in the conference.
In the 1999 season, USC had only one returning starter, nine healthy
players and a schedule which included 20 matches on the road. Elliott
led USC to the NCAA Tournament second round and to a No. 17 final ranking,
and all six starters were named to All-Pac 10 teams.
Elliott's
extensive coaching experience has been at the high school, club, international
and collegiate level. He joined the USC program in August of 1995 as
a volunteer assistant and was promoted to assistant coach in 1996. Each
season as an assistant coach, the Women of Troy finished ranked in the
national Top 15. He also helped produce two-time All-American middle
blocker Jasmina Marinkovic (1995-98).
Elliott
was an assistant coach on the 1998 U.S. Junior National Team which won
the NORCECA gold medal and qualified for the World Championships. Additionally,
he served as the director/head coach of the Westside Volleyball Club
(1992-95), where he led his 1994 squad to a fourth-place finish in the
Nike Volleyball Festival; in 1992-93, Elliott was a head coach for Forum
Team Cup Volleyball. He gained his first collegiate level coaching experience
as an assistant with the Cal State Northridge men's volleyball program
in 1993, when the Matadors advanced to the NCAA Championship match before
losing to UCLA.
Among
his high school head coaching experiences, Elliott spent three years
(1992-1994) at Marymount High in Westwood, Calif., where he directed
his girls squad to the league championship in 1993. He also spent one
year (1991) at Palisades High (his alma mater) in Pacific Palisades,
Calif., leading the girls team to a 16-3 record and the Los Angeles
City title.
Elliott
played collegiate volleyball at Pepperdine in 1986-88 and at Hawai'i
during the 1989-90 season. As an outside hitter at Palisades High in
1985-86, Elliott played with former USC standout Kevin Shepard and 1996
U.S. Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Kent Steffes. As an All-L.A.
City second team selection, he led Palisades to 36-0 record in his final
season.
Born April 28, 1968, Elliott earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Cal State Northridge in 1991.
