Gray, No. 11 BYU volleyball hope to do one-better in 2015


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PROVO — BYU outside hitter Alexa Gray still can't believe this day has come.

Not only is she entering her senior season with the BYU women's volleyball team, but she's also coming off the Cougars' run to the NCAA championship game, the furthest such run in school history for the national runners-up.

This year, the returning AVCA second-team All-American has even bigger plans for the Cougars, who are ranked No. 11 in the AVCA preseason poll and open the season Friday against Chicago State at the Women of Troy Baden Invitational in Los Angeles.

"I'm just trying to get better," Gray said in the middle of training camp. "I've been working hard at playing back row. One of my main goals is to be in the back row, to pass and play defense."

Don't expect Gray to make the full-time switch to libero any time soon. But with defense like returning libero Ciara Parker, who owns BYU's record for most digs in the rally scoring era, and middle blocker Amy Boswell, who ranked second in the nation in blocks per set a year ago, anything Gray can bring to the defense will be gravy.

Besides, she's already got plenty to worry about on the offensive end. Gray ranks 11th all-time at BYU with 1,266 kills in her first three years since arriving in Provo following a standout youth career in her native Calgary, Alberta, Canada. But to call her satisfied after winning the WCC tournament, taking home league player of the year honors, and making a surreal visit to the Final Four in Oklahoma City is doing her a disservice.


The past few years, we'd watch the Final Four on TV and think how good those teams are. Now that we've been there, we know that we can compete at that high level, and I think the confidence we get from that shows even in our freshmen. Our confidence and our execution is really good right now.

–BYU outside hitter Alexa Gray


"I think it was just getting confidence from being there is the most important thing we picked up," Gray said of last year's experience. "The past few years, we'd watch the Final Four on TV and think how good those teams are.

"Now that we've been there, we know that we can compete at that high level, and I think the confidence we get from that shows even in our freshmen. Our confidence and our execution is really good right now."

BYU lost a number of standouts from last year's squad, including outside hitter Tambre Nobles and opposite Jennifer Hamson, who moved on to basketball with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. But the Cougars return plenty, including Boswell and the BYU block party.

"Being the underdog is kind of nice," said Boswell, who averaged 1.68 blocks per set a year ago. "I know some people think that after we lost Jen, our coach, etc., we might be off. But we feel confident with the people we have. We may be a little young, but we are working hard every day, and we're ready to work."

The Cougars' biggest loss might not be on the court, but in the bench. Shawn Olmstead stepped into the head coaching role of the men's volleyball team in the offseason, and Olmstead's sister Heather — a longtime BYU assistant coach — has slid into the chair to keep the position in the family.

No pressure, right?

"Shawn did such a good job since he took over in 2011 with the program," Heather Olmstead said. "I feel like things are in good shape, and I couldn't have walked into a better situation on the culture and the program he had been building with me and our other assistants."

Related Story:

Heather Olmstead was a four-year starter at Utah State who played two seasons of pro volleyball following graduation in 2001. She came to BYU when her brother ascended to the head coaching job in 2011, and has helped the team on its current ascent — the best in BYU women's volleyball history capped by last year's 30-5 record and national championship match appearance.

But since taking on the head coach responsibilities, she's still the same old coach her players have come to know and love.

"I'm pleasantly surprised, but I love it," Boswell said. "We went on our team retreat last weekend, and Heather was right in there with us, laughing and dancing. It was great. She was just being the head coach."

The biggest change, Olmstead admitted, is yet to come.

"Everything for me is so exciting because it's my first time," the first-time collegiate head coach said. "You can pick anything, and it's exciting because it's the first time I've had to experience that as a head coach."

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsBYU Cougars
Sean Walker

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast