Saint Mary's College of California Volleyball

Saint Mary's College Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Matoso announced today the hiring of former United States National Team Head Coach Tyler Hildebrand as the next head coach to lead the volleyball program at Saint Mary's. Hildebrand becomes the ninth head coach in the program's history and comes to Saint Mary's with remarkable experience and accolades over his coaching and playing career. "Tyler is a tremendous fit for Saint Mary's College and he has an unprecedented resume that will help bolster the program for many years to come," Matoso said. "We can't wait to welcome him and his wife Kristin and their family to campus. Going through the search process, Tyler was everything we were looking for in a candidate." "I am thrilled to join Saint Mary's College as the Head Coach of the women's volleyball program. This is an incredible opportunity for me and my family to be part of a historic and beautiful university and build a program with great potential," Hildebrand said. "I want to thank Mike Matoso, Ryan Reggiani, and President Roger Thompson for trusting me and my family with this role and for their commitment to supporting the future of Gael athletics. Their vision, leadership, and commitment to excellence make this an exciting time to be part of Saint Mary's." This past season, Hildebrand was an associate head coach at USC, after serving as head coach at Long Beach State in 2022-23. Hildebrand returned to his alma mater—Long Beach State—in December 2021

A former standout player for Stanford, Brian Cook makes his way to Moraga after a storied playing career. After being twice named a first team All-American as an outside hitter for the Cardinal, Cook spent three years overseas playing for the likes of Panathinaikos (Greece), Tonazzo Padova (Italy) and Azimut Modena (Italy). He also represented Team USA at the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto, won gold at the 2019 World Beach Games in Qatar, and spent three seasons playing on the AVP Pro Beach Tour. Cook has spent the past 8 years as a volunteer coach for top professional clubs around the world like Vakifbank (Istanbul), Imoco Conegliano (Italy), and LOVB Atlanta.

Colin Hassoun played collegiately at NAIA Powerhouse Vanguard University, and was a member of their 2023 National Title Winning Team. While he was playing at Vanguard, he coached for the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club. Continuing his coaching career, Hassoun went to graduate school at the University of Nebraska, where he served as a Graduate Assistant for the nationally renowned Cornhuskers Women's Volleyball team. Nebraska went 66-5 in the two seasons that Hassoun was on staff, and made it to the National Title Game in 2023. This gives Hassoun the unique designation of appearing in a National Title Game as a player (Vanguard, 2023) and a coach (Nebraska, 2023) in the same calendar year.

Nicole White-Madolora begins her second season with Saint Mary's College after being hired in August 2022. As assistant athletic trainer, she works the indoor and beach volleyball programs for the Gaels. White-Madolora comes to Moraga after spending one season at Fresno State as an athletic training intern, where she worked with the equestrian and women's tennis teams. She has also has experience in the West Coast Conference, as she spent a year as an athletic training student at the University of San Diego (2020-21). Having spent a lot of time in SoCal, White-Madolora earned her bachelor's degree at California Lutheran in 2018, and completed her Master of Science in Athletic Training in 2021 from Point Loma Nazarene, where she concurrently worked at Point Loma High as an athletic training student.

Paige McLeod played at Division III University of Redlands. After her graduation, McLeod joined both the club and prep coaching ranks, coaching for Inland Valley Force and at Arrowhead Christian High School. There, she not only coached volleyball, but also worked as an educator in the Special Education Department.