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The University of Utah Athletics
JJ Riley Joins Utah Volleyball Coaching Staff
1/26/2012 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Jan. 26, 2012
SALT LAKE CITY - Former USC men's volleyball assistant coach JJ Riley has been hired as assistant coach for the Utah women's program, head coach Beth Launiere announced Thursday. He will join the Ute coaching staff this winter in preparation of Utah's second season in the Pac-12 Conference.
Riley brings an extensive and diverse volleyball background to the Utah coaching staff on both the collegiate and club levels as well as on both the men's and women's side of the game. He was in his second season as an assistant coach with the USC men's volleyball team and has coached for the men's and women's teams at Pepperdine. Riley has coached in two NCAA Final Fours between the two programs, including last season with the Trojans, and he also played in the NCAA national championship match as a setter for the Pepperdine Waves.
He has also been successful on the club level, as he coached the Southern California Volleyball Club 16 boy's team and led the squad to a bronze medal at the 2011 Junior Olympics.
"JJ has a vast amount of coaching experience at the highest levels of the game and will add a valuable amount of knowledge and perspective for us playing against the top teams in the country in the Pac-12," Launiere said. "JJ's setting and offensive pedigree will add value to our program, which has traditionally been one of the top blocking teams in the country."
Before USC, Riley was an assistant with the Pepperdine women's team for four years (2000-03) and helped the Waves reach the NCAA Regional Final for the first time in school history.
Riley also served as an assistant coach for two seasons with the Pepperdine men's team in 2000 and 2010. In 2000, he helped the Waves advance to the NCAA Final Four, while the 2010 team finished among the nation's leaders in four different statistical categories: third in hitting percentage and assists, fifth in kills-per-set average and sixth in block average. Riley mentored First-Team All-American setter Kasey Crider, who led the nation in assists that season.
Riley coached high school and club volleyball in Bend, Ore., from 2004 to 2009. He was the girls' varsity head coach for three years at Summit High School, where he led the school to its first-ever state tournament appearance in 2006, which took sixth in the 5A division. In club volleyball, he founded the Oregon Volleyball Academy, where he directed 16 teams and was head coach of the 18-1 boy's team. He also coached with the Oregon Suns and Sports Shack club programs.
As a collegiate player, Riley was a setter at Pepperdine from 1995 to 1999 and was named a Second-Team All-American in 1998 as the Waves won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title and reached the NCAA Championship match. He ended his career as Pepperdine's all-time assist leader with 3,788 and currently stands fourth in the school's record book. As a prep, Riley was an all-state player at Punahou High School in Honolulu (Hawaii), helping the team win two state titles. He also won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Junior Olympics in club volleyball.
Riley graduated from Pepperdine in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education with an emphasis in Sports Medicine and Athletic Training. He is an NESTA certified strength and conditioning coach and is SAQ certified. Riley is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Coaching and Athletic Administration through correspondence courses conducted by Concordia University in Irvine, Calif.
His wife, the former Emily Rothman, played volleyball at Pepperdine from 1998-2001.
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