University Southern California Trojans
July 01, 2017 | Women's Volleyball
The USC women’s volleyball program elevated assistant coach Jason Kennedy and brought back All-American Alexis Olgard
LOS ANGELES – Entering his third season with the USC women's volleyball program, Jason Kennedy assumes the title of Associate Head Coach effective immediately head coach Mick Haley announced on Saturday, July 1. On staff since early in the spring, the Women of Troy also welcome back All-American middle blocker Alexis Olgard who will serve her first season as the program's director of operations this fall.
"This is a well-deserved promotion for Jason," said Haley. "He has put in so much hard work to help develop our program and has shown that he is one of the best at what he does. He is absolutely deserving of the new title. We are so glad to have Alexis back in Galen Center. She had a wonderful collegiate and pro career and her knowledge of how our program runs will make her a major asset to our staff and our players as we head into the 2017 season."
2017 will mark Kennedy's third season as a coach for the program. He previously served four seasons (2011-14) as the technical director for both the Trojans' men's and women's volleyball programs. With Kennedy as a coach, the Women of Troy advanced to the 2015 NCAA regional final and made the program's record 26th appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2016. He helped coach the 2015 AVCA National Player of the Year Samantha Bricio.
In his previous post as technical director, Kennedy prepared and provided scouting reports, game-plan assistance, and in-game strategic adjustments to the volleyball staffs. He also oversaw video analysis, exchange, and distribution for both programs.
As technical director, Kennedy helped the Women of Troy reach the 2011 NCAA national semifinals, and back-to-back regional championship matches (2012-13). He also served on the men's staff that took the Trojans to the NCAA title match in 2011. Kennedy has also served as a scout coach for the USA Beach Volleyball programs where he was responsible for video analysis and breakdown. He created scouting reports for all U.S. Olympic opponents in 2012 and worked on site internationally (2013 and 2015) throughout the FIVB World Tour.
A native of Honolulu, Kennedy was a setter and team captain at Santa Clara (2004-07) where he received bachelor's degrees in biology and psychology. Kennedy earned his master's degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco in 2009. Known for his volleyball analytics, Kennedy has also served as a presenter and speaker at the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) national convention.
Kennedy currently resides with his wife Alana in Culver City, Calif.
Olgard returns to the Women of Troy following a successful two-year professional career which included stops in South Korea (Heunghkuk Life Insurance Volleyball Club; January-May 2016); the Philippines (Philips Gold Professional Volleyball Club; August-December 2015); and Germany (Aurubis Hamburg Professional Volleyball Club; August 2014-May 2015). She was also a member of the USA Women's National Training Team and competed for Team USA at the 2014 NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifier.
Off the court, Olgard was a sales development representative for Highspot Inc. from July 2016 to February 2017. She has also served as a coach at various volleyball camps at Gonzaga, Washington State, and for USC's Mick Haley Volleyball Camps.
Olgard was a four-year starting middle blocker for the Women of Troy (2010-13) and garnered third-team AVCA All-America honors in 2013. She was also an AVCA All-Pacific South Region selection and earned Pac-12 All-Conference honors as a senior. Olgard was a member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman team in 2010 and was a one-time winner of Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week award.
While at USC, Olgard helped the Trojans capture the inaugural Pac-12 championship (2011) and three other third-place finishes. She was part of two NCAA semifinal teams (2010-11) and helped the Women of Troy advance at least as far as the NCAA regional championship match in all four of her seasons.
Olgard competed in 120 matches during her four-year career at USC. She finished with 770 kills and a .401 hitting percentage to go with 393 blocks (1.00 bps) for 1,027 points. Her career hitting percentage ranks second all-time in USC history and her 393 total blocks ranks ninth in the school's record books. Olgard graduated from USC in 2014 with a bachelor of science in sociology. She currently resides in Santa Monica, Calif.
USC is set to open the 2017 campaign on Friday, August 25, as co-host of the USC/LMU Tournament. The Trojans start the day at Loyola Marymount's Gersten Pavilion and take on the Lions at 11 a.m. PT. USC then opens its home schedule as host to Michigan at 8 p.m. PT at Galen Center. That match will be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks.
The Women of Troy earned a program-record 26th consecutive berth into the NCAA tournament (34th overall appearance) and finished 2016 with an 18-14 overall record. USC was 10-10 in Pac-12 matches and finished in a tie for seventh place. The Trojans won three of their four pre-conference tournaments and became the 17th NCAA Division I program to cross the 1,000 all-time victories threshold with a win over Arizona State on Oct. 5. Haley earned his 400th win as the Trojans' head coach.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
"This is a well-deserved promotion for Jason," said Haley. "He has put in so much hard work to help develop our program and has shown that he is one of the best at what he does. He is absolutely deserving of the new title. We are so glad to have Alexis back in Galen Center. She had a wonderful collegiate and pro career and her knowledge of how our program runs will make her a major asset to our staff and our players as we head into the 2017 season."
2017 will mark Kennedy's third season as a coach for the program. He previously served four seasons (2011-14) as the technical director for both the Trojans' men's and women's volleyball programs. With Kennedy as a coach, the Women of Troy advanced to the 2015 NCAA regional final and made the program's record 26th appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2016. He helped coach the 2015 AVCA National Player of the Year Samantha Bricio.
In his previous post as technical director, Kennedy prepared and provided scouting reports, game-plan assistance, and in-game strategic adjustments to the volleyball staffs. He also oversaw video analysis, exchange, and distribution for both programs.
As technical director, Kennedy helped the Women of Troy reach the 2011 NCAA national semifinals, and back-to-back regional championship matches (2012-13). He also served on the men's staff that took the Trojans to the NCAA title match in 2011. Kennedy has also served as a scout coach for the USA Beach Volleyball programs where he was responsible for video analysis and breakdown. He created scouting reports for all U.S. Olympic opponents in 2012 and worked on site internationally (2013 and 2015) throughout the FIVB World Tour.
A native of Honolulu, Kennedy was a setter and team captain at Santa Clara (2004-07) where he received bachelor's degrees in biology and psychology. Kennedy earned his master's degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco in 2009. Known for his volleyball analytics, Kennedy has also served as a presenter and speaker at the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) national convention.
Kennedy currently resides with his wife Alana in Culver City, Calif.
Olgard returns to the Women of Troy following a successful two-year professional career which included stops in South Korea (Heunghkuk Life Insurance Volleyball Club; January-May 2016); the Philippines (Philips Gold Professional Volleyball Club; August-December 2015); and Germany (Aurubis Hamburg Professional Volleyball Club; August 2014-May 2015). She was also a member of the USA Women's National Training Team and competed for Team USA at the 2014 NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifier.
Off the court, Olgard was a sales development representative for Highspot Inc. from July 2016 to February 2017. She has also served as a coach at various volleyball camps at Gonzaga, Washington State, and for USC's Mick Haley Volleyball Camps.
Olgard was a four-year starting middle blocker for the Women of Troy (2010-13) and garnered third-team AVCA All-America honors in 2013. She was also an AVCA All-Pacific South Region selection and earned Pac-12 All-Conference honors as a senior. Olgard was a member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman team in 2010 and was a one-time winner of Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week award.
While at USC, Olgard helped the Trojans capture the inaugural Pac-12 championship (2011) and three other third-place finishes. She was part of two NCAA semifinal teams (2010-11) and helped the Women of Troy advance at least as far as the NCAA regional championship match in all four of her seasons.
Olgard competed in 120 matches during her four-year career at USC. She finished with 770 kills and a .401 hitting percentage to go with 393 blocks (1.00 bps) for 1,027 points. Her career hitting percentage ranks second all-time in USC history and her 393 total blocks ranks ninth in the school's record books. Olgard graduated from USC in 2014 with a bachelor of science in sociology. She currently resides in Santa Monica, Calif.
USC is set to open the 2017 campaign on Friday, August 25, as co-host of the USC/LMU Tournament. The Trojans start the day at Loyola Marymount's Gersten Pavilion and take on the Lions at 11 a.m. PT. USC then opens its home schedule as host to Michigan at 8 p.m. PT at Galen Center. That match will be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks.
The Women of Troy earned a program-record 26th consecutive berth into the NCAA tournament (34th overall appearance) and finished 2016 with an 18-14 overall record. USC was 10-10 in Pac-12 matches and finished in a tie for seventh place. The Trojans won three of their four pre-conference tournaments and became the 17th NCAA Division I program to cross the 1,000 all-time victories threshold with a win over Arizona State on Oct. 5. Haley earned his 400th win as the Trojans' head coach.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
Saturday, October 24
Thursday, October 22
Saturday, October 17
Saturday, October 17
