ACU introduced its tenth head volleyball coach in school history, Alisa Blair, via a press release from the athletic department Tuesday morning.
Blair, a former assistant for conference rival Stephen F. Austin, was selected for the job after a search lasting less than a month. This was after the Wildcats parted ways with former head coach Angela Mooney.
“I am so excited to have Alisa lead our volleyball program,” said vice president for athletics Zack Lassiter. “She has a proven track record of success, and she will embrace the mission of ACU while developing our student-athletes on and off the court.”
Blair is an alumnus of Angelo State University and is a former head coach of Hill College in Hillsboro. She has also been an assistant coach at the University of Central Oklahoma and most recently spent four years at Stephen F. Austin learning under NCAA volleyball coaching legend Debbie Humphreys.
Blair is taking over a Wildcat team that went 9-15 this past season and 3-9 in conference play. Despite the conference struggles, the team earned a spot in the Western Athletic Conference volleyball tournament, eventually being eliminated in the first round by the number one seed Sam Houston Bearkats.
The team Blair will be inheriting will be mostly the same as last season. Returning players include WAC All-Freshman Team selection Bryley Steinhilber, a freshman outside and right-side hitter from Kennedale.
Another standout player returning to the roster is Londyn Gray, a junior outside and right-side hitter. She was also the student-athlete present on the search committee who found Blair.
“I anticipate that Coach Blair will bring a new competitive edge to the program, and she expects a winning culture to cultivate at the start of next season,” Gray said.
This move is the third new staff hire in what has been a season of big changes for the ACU athletic department. These moves included the introduction of Zach Lassiter and Keith Patterson’s appointment as head football coach.
Blair will take over duties and officially begin coaching on January 8.
