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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa head volleyball coach Bond Shymansky has named Victoria Brown associate head coach, the program announced Friday.
“Vicki will add such great experience as a former middle blocker in the Big Ten and as a head coach at the Division I level,” said Shymansky. “She has strong character and a fantastic demeanor. We are counting on Vicki to continue our strong recruiting trend and add a new perspective to our team and training. We believe we are poised for the next step as a program and will value Vickis input and efforts to help us get there.”
“I am very appreciative of this opportunity,” said Brown. “It is a blessing to be a part of a strong academic and athletic university. Coach Shymansky is a phenomenal coach and I feel very fortunate to join his talented staff. I am excited to be a part of this great university and volleyball program.”
Brown comes to Iowa after one year as head coach of both indoor volleyball and beach volleyball at the University of San Francisco. A former Illinois standout on the court, Brown returns to the Big Ten and fills the Iowa coaching staff vacancy created when Michaela Franklin accepted the head coaching position at Clemson.
Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Brown served on the staff at UC Davis from 2014-15, where she worked as the recruiting coordinator and organized team travel.
Prior to her time with the Aggies, Brown spent two years under Melissa Myers at Illinois State, helping the Redbirds to a combined 37-25 record. Her primary duties included defensive strategy, scouting, and recruiting. Brown also worked with the Redbird middles. In 2013, under Brown’s tutelage, Emily Schneider and LeighAnn Hranka ranked among the top three MVC leaders in blocks, and the Illinois State defense led the conference with a .153 opposing attack average.
Preceding her stint with the Redbirds, Brown served as a volunteer assistant at Toledo, where she worked with the opposites, liberos, and defensive specialists. She also served as the head coach for the Toledo Volleyball Club 14s and 15s squad, becoming the leading expert in implementing training ideas for all other age-group coaches.
Along with a budding coaching resume, Brown’s prowess as a player allowed her to enjoy a professional career with stops in Austria, Puerto Rico, and Spain. As a collegian at Illinois, Brown earned All-Big Ten honorable mention twice as a middle blocker, ranking among the league’s top 10 hitters in each of her final two seasons. For her career, she amassed more than 1,000 career kills, broke the century mark in blocks for three straight years, and took home six tournament MVP honors before graduating in 2008 with a degree in communications.