Former Volleyball Head Coach Matt McShane Passes Away
11/24/2024 4:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Former Air Force volleyball head coach Matt McShane passed away unexpectedly last week. A coaching legend, McShane spent six seasons (2010-15) as head coach of the Falcons' program and laid the groundwork for some of the most successful seasons in Air Force's Division I history.
During his tenure at the Academy, McShane guided Air Force to several historic milestones including its first conference victory in 74 matches (2010, vs San Diego State), its first conference road match in 66 matches (2012, at Nevada), and a (then) Division I record for conference wins in a season (seven in 2014). The Falcons also snapped several long losing streaks in Mountain West action during his time at the Academy, highlighted by victories over Wyoming (2013, 18 matches), San Diego State (2010, 22 matches), and UNLV (2015, 31 matches). The Falcons went 4-0 over Navy under McShane's leadership, while collecting milestone wins over two-time NCAA Tournament team Long Island, a Long Beach State squad that was receiving votes in the national coaches poll at the time, Harvard, and a Cal team that marked the Falcons' first-ever victory over a team from the Pac-12. In addition, under his guidance, two recruiting classes (2012, 2014) received High Honorable Mention recognition from PrepVolleyball.com.
McShane spent more than 40 years coaching collegiate volleyball. Prior to joining the Academy staff on Jan. 26, 2010, McShane – named one of Volleyball Magazine's 10 Best Assistant Coaches – spent time on the coaching staffs at the University of California, the University of Utah, the University of New Mexico, and BYU. He returned to Cal in 2016 to serve as the associate head coach, before taking over head coaching duties in 2017.
Headlined by a stint as an assistant coach of the USA Women's National Team, McShane also had a tremendous career coaching at the national and international level. In addition to his time with Team USA, he also served on the staffs of the U.S. Women's Junior National Team, which won the gold medal at the 2010 NORCECA Continental Championships, the USA Volleyball National A2 Team (head coach 2002, assistant coach 2007), and the IVA High Performance Team
As an undergraduate at UC Santa Barbara, McShane was a member of the only intercollegiate team to win the USAV Open National Championship. In addition, his UCSB teams finished second at the NCAA Championships in 1974 and 1975, with McShane earning All-America honors in 1975.
During his tenure at the Academy, McShane guided Air Force to several historic milestones including its first conference victory in 74 matches (2010, vs San Diego State), its first conference road match in 66 matches (2012, at Nevada), and a (then) Division I record for conference wins in a season (seven in 2014). The Falcons also snapped several long losing streaks in Mountain West action during his time at the Academy, highlighted by victories over Wyoming (2013, 18 matches), San Diego State (2010, 22 matches), and UNLV (2015, 31 matches). The Falcons went 4-0 over Navy under McShane's leadership, while collecting milestone wins over two-time NCAA Tournament team Long Island, a Long Beach State squad that was receiving votes in the national coaches poll at the time, Harvard, and a Cal team that marked the Falcons' first-ever victory over a team from the Pac-12. In addition, under his guidance, two recruiting classes (2012, 2014) received High Honorable Mention recognition from PrepVolleyball.com.
McShane spent more than 40 years coaching collegiate volleyball. Prior to joining the Academy staff on Jan. 26, 2010, McShane – named one of Volleyball Magazine's 10 Best Assistant Coaches – spent time on the coaching staffs at the University of California, the University of Utah, the University of New Mexico, and BYU. He returned to Cal in 2016 to serve as the associate head coach, before taking over head coaching duties in 2017.
Headlined by a stint as an assistant coach of the USA Women's National Team, McShane also had a tremendous career coaching at the national and international level. In addition to his time with Team USA, he also served on the staffs of the U.S. Women's Junior National Team, which won the gold medal at the 2010 NORCECA Continental Championships, the USA Volleyball National A2 Team (head coach 2002, assistant coach 2007), and the IVA High Performance Team
As an undergraduate at UC Santa Barbara, McShane was a member of the only intercollegiate team to win the USAV Open National Championship. In addition, his UCSB teams finished second at the NCAA Championships in 1974 and 1975, with McShane earning All-America honors in 1975.
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