Women's Volleyball Names Bryn Kehoe Assistant Coach

Women's Volleyball Names Bryn Kehoe Assistant Coach Kehoe to replace Julia Silva on the Crimson Tide coaching staff

Head coach Ed Allen announces Bryn Kehoe as new assistant volleyball coach for the Tide.

Feb. 15, 2013

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Alabama head women’s volleyball coach Ed Allen announced the hiring of Bryn Kehoe as an assistant coach for the Crimson Tide. Kehoe will work with the setters and coordinate the Tide’s offensive system. Kehoe replaces Julia Silva, who departed the program in February to return home to Brazil.

“We are excited to add Bryn to the Bama family,” head coach Ed Allen said. “She brings with her a wealth of volleyball experience, having competed at the highest levels, both collegiately and professionally. She comes from a volleyball family with both parents competing collegiately and a brother also playing collegiately and professionally as well. Bryn will be a terrific mentor to all our players while specifically working to develop our setters and helping to direct our offense.”

Kehoe had gained coaching experience as a lead coach for Gold Medal Squared from 2010-13, was a lead coach for the All-American Volleyball camps from 2008-13, and was the head coach of the T-Street Volleyball Club in Irvine, Calif., for one season (2009-10).

Kehoe comes to Tuscaloosa after spending the last four seasons playing overseas for Sagres NUC in Neuchatel, Switzerland, where she helped the team to second place finishes in the Swiss Championship in 2010 and 2011. Following an outstanding collegiate career at Stanford University, Kehoe’s professional playing career began in 2008, when she joined the Biel-Bienne VBC team in Biel-Bienne, Switzerland from August of 2008 through April of 2009.

“I am really excited to join the Crimson Tide and the opportunity to coach at Alabama is truly a blessing,” Kehoe said. “I am so excited to learn and to share my passion and knowledge for the game of volleyball. Throughout the process, the more I learned about the University and its academic and athletic programs, it was easy to see that Alabama is a perfect fit. Coach Ed Allen, Julia Silva and Ryan Wills have done an amazing job raising the level of expectations for the volleyball at Alabama and I'm thrilled that I can join the continuing success of the program.”

After nine years in the states, both as a player from 2004-07 and a coach with Allen from 2008-12, Silva decided it was time to return home to be with her family in Brazil. “Julia has been an outstanding coach for me both at Tulsa and here at Alabama,” Allen said. “It will be difficult to replace the character, competiveness and drive to win that Julia possesses. Julia played a key role in rebuilding the program here at Alabama, and I cannot say enough about what she has done to help move this program in the right direction. Although we lose a lot with Julia’s departure, we do expect that Bryn will continue the work that Julia has done within our program.”

Kehoe also spent time in the USA Volleyball program. Most recently, she started one of three matches and played four sets on USA’s tour of China in 2010. In 2005, she was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team that competed in the Montreux Masters. She was the starting setter for the 2005 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team that competed at the FIVB World Championship in Turkey, was a member of the 2004 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team that won the gold medal at the NORCECA Continental Championship, and was a member of the 2003 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team that competed in the FIVB World Championship in Poland.

In four seasons as the starting setter at Stanford, Kehoe helped guide the Cardinal to the NCAA championship game three times, including a national championship in 2004 when she was a freshman. With Kehoe as the starting setter in 2006 and 2007, Stanford finished runner-up in the NCAA tournament each year. Kehoe garnered a number of accolades in her playing days on “The Farm,” as she was a three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American, from 2005-07. She was also named an All-American by Volleyball Magazine in 2006 and 2007, was a first team All-PAC-10 selection in 2004, 2006 and 2007, and was named the 2007 National Setter of the Year by CVU.com.

She left the Stanford program as the school’s all-time leader in career assists (5,956), while ranking in the top-10 in services aces (129) and digs (1,220). As a senior, she set a single season school record with 1,742 assists in 2007, breaking her previous school record when she had 1,637 assists as a freshman in 2004. Her school record of 14.40 assists per set in 2007 led the country.

A native of North Bend, Ohio, Kehoe comes from a volleyball family. Both her parents Steve and Amy played collegiately at Ball State and Western Michigan, respectively, and her brother Seth played volleyball at Ohio State. Kehoe graduated from Stanford University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

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