Women's Volleyball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator
- Phone:
- 719-333-7229
Elysse Richardson is in her eighth season as an assistant coach for the Air Force volleyball team, having joined the program in May 2016. Richardson, who also serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Falcons’ coaching staff, having played at the collegiate and international level.
Richardson helped the Falcons’ to their first winning campaign in 19 years during the 2018 season – a 17-15 overall record that included an Academy-best mark for wins in a season at the Division I level (17), a program-best number of victories in conference play (seven) and its best non-conference record since 1999 (10-4). In fact, the Falcons have tallied a program-record seven conference wins four times during her first seven years, including a 7-6 record during the delayed 2020 season that accounted for the Falcons’ first winning record in conference play ever at the Division I level.
While overseeing the Falcons’ defensive lineup, Richardson saw Alex King become just the third Air Force player at the Division I level to register at least 400 digs in a season (433 in 2019), while coaching two others – Savannah Banyai (2016), Denise Ssozi (2018) – to 300-dig seasons ... a plateau that has only been reached 11 times since 1996.
She joined the Academy staff after coaching stints at the college, high school and club levels. Richardson, who served as a volunteer coach at Colorado College during the 2015-16 season, has also served as the head coach of the junior varsity squad at Fairview High School (Boulder, Colo.). In addition to coaching at the Boulder Athletic Club, TCA Volleyball Club and Northern Virginia Volleyball Club, she also worked several collegiate summer camps, including the Air Force Sports Camp in 2015.
Richardson brings a wealth of collegiate playing experience to the Falcons’ program, having spent four years (2010-14) as a libero and defensive specialist at the University of Colorado. While in Boulder, the three-time Pac-12 All-Academic First-Team selection helped rebuild a Buffs’ program that ultimately advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament during her senior year.
Following her collegiate career, Richardson spent a season playing overseas, serving as the libero for the SK UP Olomouc and TJ Sokol Sternberk in the Czech Republic.
A native of Vienna, Va., Richardson received a degree in psychology from Colorado in 2014.
