Beth Launiere enters her 31st season at the helm of the University of Utah volleyball program in 2020 and is coming off one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history.
Launiere was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2019 after leading Utah to a 24-10 record, a third-place finish in the Pac-12 and the program’s fourth Sweet 16 appearance (two in the last three years), with four players named to the All-American team. Along with earning her first Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor, she also was named the AVCA West Region Coach of the Year for the fourth time (2001, ’06, ’08, ‘19). She had also been named the Mountain West Conference (MWC) Coach of the Year 3 times (2004, ’06, ’08).
Launiere arrived at Utah in 1990 and took over a program that had compiled a 1-32 record the previous year. Inspiring a turnaround in the program, she recorded Utah’s first winning season in seven years (18-15) in 1992, just her third year. She has now registered 588 career victories, 275 conference wins and an all-time winning percentage of .606, and all of these marks rank first among Utah volleyball’s coaching records.
Launiere led Utah to its first national ranking in 2000 after defeating No. 1 Stanford, 3-2, on Sept. 5, 2000. The next week, the Utes appeared in the Sept. 18th AVCA Top 25 poll, coming in at No. 18. Utah earned its highest ranking in school history on Sept. 2, 2002, when it was ranked eighth.
Launiere has coached in the USA National Team program for the past 11 years. She coached USA Collegiate National Teams during each summer from 2009 through 2011 including Head Coach of the USA/BIP Team at the 2011 European Global Challenge in Belgrade, Serbia and Pula, Croatia and the USA National A2 Program in May of 2010 at the Open Division of the USA Open National Championships in Phoenix, Ariz. She returned to the sidelines with USA Volleyball in the summer of 2019 as an assistant for the USA Collegiate National Team, which competed in the University Games in Napoli, Italy.
Launiere was also an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Li Miao, Chinese Taipei and Bangkok, Thailand.
Launiere’s impact on the sport goes well beyond the court. She has guided volleyball on the national stage as the AVCA President during the 2009 calendar year and as the President-Elect in 2008 and served a three-year term as the Division I Volleyball Coaches Representative on the AVCA Board of Directors from 2004 to 2007. Launiere’s committee work also included serving on the AVCA’s All-America Committee for six years two different times.
Prior to coming to Utah, the Grand Rapids, Mich., native was as an assistant coach at Illinois (1988-89). The Illini went 57-12 during Launiere’s stay and made it to two NCAA Tournaments, including a 1988 Final Four showing.
An assistant at Ferris State (Mich.) from 1985-87, Launiere helped the Bulldogs win three postseason bids, including an appearance in the 1987 NCAA Division II Final Four.
Education
University of Illinois
Master’s degree in Sports administration from Illinois.
1985
Aquinas College Michigan
Launiere graduated in 1985 from Aquinas College (Mich.). She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics.
The Launiere Files
Awards
- AVCA West Region Coach of the Year: 2001, 2006, 2008, 2019
- Pac-12 Coach of the Year: 2019
- Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year: 2004, 2006, 2008
Milestone Victories
- 500th: 3-1 vs. Oregon State | Nov. 1, 2015
- 400th: 3-2 vs. BYU | Sept. 25, 2009
- 300th: 3-0 vs. Idaho State | Aug. 26, 2005
- 200th: 3-1 vs. UNLV | Nov. 16, 2000
- 100th: 3-0 vs. Utah State | Sept. 20, 1996
Team Accomplishments
- 16 NCAA Tournament appearances: 1998-2006, 2008, 2013-14, 2016-19
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearances: 2001, 2008, 2017, 2019
- MWC Tournament Championships: 2001, 2002, 2005
- MWC Regular-Season Titles: 2004, 2006, 2008
- AVCA All-Americans: Kim Turner (Third Team, 2003) Lyndsey Henderson (Honorable Mention, 2004) Shelly Sommerfeldt (Honorable Mention, 2005) Arial Salvo (Second Team, 2006) Whitney Webb (Third Team, 2006) Emillie Toone (Honorable Mention, 2006, 2008) Lori Baird (Third Team, 2008) Shelby Dalton (Honorable Mention, 2013), Adora Anae (Second Team, 2016; First Team, 2017), Tawnee Luafalemana (Honorable Mention, 2017), Berkeley Oblad (Honorable Mention, 2017), Dani Drews (Second Team, 2018), Kenzie Koerber (Honorable Mention, 2018)
Under Launiere, Utah has ...
- Become the first school in the MWC to win 16 matches in conference play, and just the second to go undefeated (16-0, 2006).
- Won a school-record 28 matches in a season in 2006, including a school-record 25 straight.
- Led the nation in blocks twice (1993 and 2006).
- Recorded 18, 20-win seasons.
- Gone undefeated on Crimson Court twice (2001, 2006).
- Received its first national ranking in the AVCA poll, coming in at No. 18 in September, 2000. Its highest national ranking was eighth in September, 2002.
- Defeated the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time, downing Stanford, 3-2, on Sept. 5, 2000.
- Made its first postseason appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC), finishing in third place (1993)