April 9, 2009

HIGH POINT, N.C. - University of Maryland assistant volleyball coach Jason Oliver was named head coach of High Point University's volleyball program, the school announced Thursday.

Oliver, who spent last four seasons as an assistant for Maryland head coach Tim Horsmon, replaces Chad Esposito at High Point following Esposito's resignation in February. Oliver inherits a Panthers program coming off the best season in school history with a 26-7 overall record and 13-3 mark in the Big South Conference in 2008.

"To become a head coach of a Division I women's volleyball program has been a dream of mine since I started coaching 15 years ago," Oliver said. "To be selected as the head coach at an extraordinary university such as High Point is a great honor. I will miss my time coaching with two of my closest friends at a special place like Maryland, but I am really excited about opening a new chapter in my coaching career."

A standout player at George Mason, Oliver's knowledge of volleyball translated well to the coaching ranks. Before coming to Maryland, Oliver helped Horsmon turn Dayton into one of the premier volleyball programs in the country. From 2005-2007, Oliver trained the Flyers' front-row players as the team posted an 80-24 record in three seasons, including three Atlantic 10 championships.

Under Oliver's guidance, Dayton hit better than .250 and averaged 2.6 blocks per game his last two years with the program. The Flyers set a school record for kills in 2005.

Oliver spent three seasons as the coach of the Dayton Juniors club team and has been instrumental in helping organize Horsmon's summer camps both at Dayton and Maryland. Oliver's duties also included scheduling and organizing team travel.

"Jason has been a great coach and friend the last four years," Horsmon said. "Jason has worked extremely hard to put himself in position to be a head coach and he will have a great opportunity to run his own program. We will miss what Jason brings to our program, but we are equally excited about this opportunity for him and wish him great luck in his new position. We will be following and rooting for the High Point volleyball program from this point forward."

Before stints at Dayton and Maryland, Oliver spent five seasons as an assistant at West Virginia and also coached at Towson, California Lutheran and Marymount University.

A native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., Oliver received a Bachelor of Arts in communications from George Mason in 1998 and a Master's of Science in athletic coaching education from West Virginia in 2005.

-TERPS-