LSU’s indoor women’s volleyball team didn’t have to go far to find their new replacement after Ethan Pheister left to join the staff at South Carolina. Indoor head coach Fran Flory has announced the hiring of Trey Cruz as the program’s new assistant.
“I am extremely excited for a special opportunity to work for this historical program under the guidance of Fran Flory,” said Cruz. “Being able to be a part of this amazing university and athletic department is such an honor, there is no way I could pass it up.”
Cruz is a Louisiana native from Houma, though he went to high school in Texas. He has spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the beach program at LSU after working UL Lafayette as the lead for video analysis and exchange, plus working with passers and outside hitters.
During Cruz’s time with the LSU beach volleyball team, they qualified twice for the NCAA beach national championship tournament – one of only 7 teams nationally to do so (in an 8-team field). The team finished with a combined 54-22 record in those two seasons.
The move should come with a raise for Cruz, who made $48,000 as a beach assistant last year. The man he’s replacing, Pheister, made $60,000 last year.
LSU’s indoor teams put up 9-20 records in both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, before exploding to a 20-10 record last year. That included 11 wins and 7 losses in the SEC, which was good for 4th place and an invite to the NCAA tournament, where they lost to San Diego 3-1 in the opening round. 2017 was the team’s first 20-win season and NCAA appearance since 2014.
Prior to UL Lafayette, Cruz spend 7 years as a manager and video coordinator at LSU from 2008-2014. He was a player-coach of the men’s volleyball team while a student at LSU and led the team to its first NCVF Collegiate Club National Tournament.
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