Virginia announces Shannon Wells as new Volleyball head coach

Virginia Athletics Director Carla Williams announced Monday afternoon the hiring of Shannon Wells as the new volleyball head coach in Charlottesville.

“I’m so excited to be the head coach of Virginia volleyball and to start building an elite program,” Wells said in a statement. “For me, it’s always been about surrounding yourself with the right people and Virginia has some of the best in college athletics. I want to thank Carla Williams, assistant athletics director Jess Wilk and the entire executive team as well as President Jim Ryan for entrusting me to lead the way. Their investment and support of the volleyball program is great for UVA and for the game of volleyball. I look forward to getting to Grounds, meeting the team and getting to work on something very special.”

Virginia volleyball has not had a winning season since 2015, and its spring 2021 season was cancelled early after the entire coaching staff was let go in mid-march. Wells certainly has her work cut out for her.

Wells certainly has the resume for it. The associate head coach at Florida for the past four years and recruiting coordinator for all seven her of years there, Wells and the Gator coaching staff have gone an impressive 184-33 (.848), reaching seven straight NCAA Tournaments and three SEC titles during that time. In 2017, Florida reached the NCAA Championship finals under long-time head coach Mary Wise.

“We are very excited to have Shannon Wells as Virginia’s head volleyball coach,” Williams said. “She is a perfect fit for who we are currently and what we aspire to be as a volleyball program. First, she is an exceptional person and will be a wonderful addition to the UVA family. She has excelled at every level as a student-athlete and coach. She is very highly regarded and respected across the country in volleyball. We’re ready to get started under her direction.”

Wells now has the daunting task of hiring a fresh coaching staff and beginning the long road to rebuilding.