POMONA -- After serving as the Associate Head Coach for the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and this past season as Acting Head Coach, Traci Dahl has been named the head coach for the Cal Poly Pomona women's volleyball program, it was announced Monday by CPP Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Brian Swanson.

"When Traci came to Cal Poly Pomona three years ago as the Associate Head Coach, it was evident of her impact on the team and her camaraderie in being a member of our Broncos family," Swanson said.  "Having Traci serve as the Acting Head Coach this past season and building the foundation for future success was a key step in moving our program forward.  Her passion and vision for Broncos Volleyball was a distinguishing factor in her selection as our new head coach.   I look forward our upcoming season with Traci leading our program."

"It is an honor to have the opportunity to become the next head volleyball coach here at Cal Poly Pomona," said Dahl.  "I have had a truly exceptional experience here working with the staff and student-athletes. I want to thank Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Brian Swanson, and Senior Associate Athletics Director Stephanie Duke for believing in the vision I have for Cal Poly Pomona Volleyball and for all of their support."
 
Dahl continued by saying, "I am excited about the future and the direction we will be taking this program."

Last season as the acting head coach, Dahl went 8-16 with a young squad that consisted of 10 underclassmen, including seven freshmen.  One of those freshmen, Jazminn Parrish, was named the CCAA Freshman of the Year after a stellar rookie campaign.

Dahl took over for legendary AVCA Hall of Fame coach Rosie Wegrich, who retired after the 2018 season, but not before she compiled 780 victories spanning a 44-year career with stops at the University of Minnesota (1975-76), the University of Arizona (1977-91) and finally at Cal Poly Pomona from 1992 to 2018.  Her 780 victories are 31st all-time in NCAA volleyball history across all three divisions.  In 27 years on the Broncos sidelines, Wegrich went 451-333, a winning percentage of .575, with 10 NCAA tournament appearances and was a two-time CCAA Coach of the Year, including her final season this fall in 2018 when she, with the help of Dahl, led CPP to the most wins in a season since 2005 and the first NCAA tournament since 2008.

Dahl came to Cal Poly Pomona just prior to the 2017 campaign after nine successful seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division I Indiana State University from 2008 to 2016 where she led the Sycamores to unprecedented success both on and off the court.  Prior to her departure from ISU, her squad received their 19th-straight AVCA Team Academic Award, the longest streak in NCAA history, for having a cumulative team GPA of 3.3 or higher.  On the court, the Sycamores posted back-to-back winning seasons in 2014 and 2015 and Dahl became the winningest head coach in the 41-year history of Indiana State volleyball, finishing with 101 victories during her nine-year tenure with the program. The Sycamores advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in both 2011 and 2014.
 
Dahl has a strong history in the Southern California area, spending three years as an assistant coach and Kinesiology professor at Cal State Fullerton. Prior to that, she served as an assistant coach at Cerritos Community College. During her collegiate playing career at Long Beach State, Dahl was a First Team All-Big West Conference selection in 1994 and a Second Team AVCA All-American. In the 1993 season, Dahl was a part of the 49ers National Championship team.
 
Dahl earned her Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education from Long Beach State before obtaining her Master's Degree in Education from National University and a second Master's Degree in Recreation and Sport Management from Indiana State.

TRANSACTION:  Traci Dahl named head coach for the Cal Poly Pomona women's volleyball team.