Tom Peterson Promoted To Associate Head Volleyball Coach

Utah State University head volleyball coach Grayson DuBose announced Wednesday [Aug. 19, 2009] that current assistant Tom Peterson, who is beginning his second season at USU, has been promoted to associate head coach.

 

Overall, Peterson has 29 years of coaching experience, including 21 as a head coach. In his 10 years as a men's head coach at the Division I level, Peterson's teams appeared in seven NCAA Final Fours.

 

"I am excited to make Tom Peterson the associate head coach," said DuBose. "He has been a great addition to our program these past two seasons and has been extremely loyal to our team and the university. He has been and will continue to be a great mentor to me both professionally and personally."

 

Prior to his current position at Utah State, Peterson most recently was the head men's volleyball coach at Brigham Young University (2003-06) as he led the Cougars to the NCAA National Championship in 2004 and a runner-up finish in 2003.

 

"I very much appreciate Coach DuBose offering me this position," said Peterson. "He is doing wonderful things with this program and it is an honor and pleasure to work with him, our staff and our outstanding student-athletes. It is my desire to keep contributing to Utah State Volleyball in a manner that lives up to the confidence Coach DuBose and the USU Athletics Department have in me."

 

Prior to his stint at BYU, Peterson spent one year as the women's head coach at New Mexico (2001) and two years as the head coach at Utah State (1999-2000), leading the Aggies to the Big West Conference Eastern Division Championship in 1999 and the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2000, its first in school history. USU, which had just two winning campaigns in its previous 16 seasons prior to Peterson's arrival, received its first-ever top 25 ranking in 2000 and finished the year ranked 22nd.

 

Peterson began his coaching career at the University of Utah in 1980 as he spent three years as an assistant with the women's program and two years as the head coach of the men's club team. He also spent one season as a women's assistant and another as a men's assistant at BYU before becoming the head coach of the men's club team, leading the Cougars to the 1986, 1987 and 1988 National Collegiate Club Championship.

 

Peterson was then hired as the head coach of the men's program at Penn State, leading the Nittany Lions to five NCAA Final Four appearances, including the 1994 National Championship as he was named the NCAA Coach of the Year.

 

 

 

The scrimmage will be held at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and begin at 2:30 p.m.

 

With less than two weeks before the 2009 Volleyball season officially begins, Utah State's volleyball team will hold an intra-squad scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 22, at 2:30 p.m. The scrimmage will be held in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and is open to the public.

 

Fourth-year head coach Grayson DuBose welcomes back six starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that finished 11-17 on the season and in fourth-place in the WAC with a 9-7 league mark. USU also welcomes seven newcomers to the program, which includes one transfer and six freshmen. Among those returning for Utah State is a trio of second-team all-WAC performers from a year ago in junior middle blocker Katie Astle, junior setter Chelsea Fowles and junior libero Christine Morrill, while sophomore opposite side hitter Emily Kortsen was named to the league's all-freshman team in 2008. USU also returns junior middle blocker Danielle Taylor who earned second-team all-WAC honors in 2007 before redshirting during the 2008 season.

 

After earning second-team all-WAC honors last year, Fowles and Morrill have both been named to the league's all-preseason team this year as Fowles was one of just two setters to be named to the 12-person team, while Morrill was the only libero listed among the group.

 

Utah State, picked to finish third in the WAC this season according to the league's coaches, opens the 2009 season Aug. 28 against Weber State in a tournament hosted by the Wildcats. USU's first home match of the season will be against in-state rival Brigham Young Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.