SPARTANBURG, S.C. – An All-American setter in her playing days and a coach boasting five years of experience as an associate head coach in her career who's no stranger to Spartanburg, Ali Skayhan has been tabbed as the 11^th head coach of the USC Upstate volleyball program.
 
"I'm so thrilled to welcome Coach Skayhan to USC Upstate! Through a crowded field of candidates with tremendous experience, Coach Skayhan was able to set herself apart with her proven volleyball acumen, as a player and a coach," said Director of Athletics Daniel Feig. "She is a true teacher of the game. But even more important, she builds strong and genuine relationships with student-athletes on and off the court, and they will enjoy and benefit from her wise counsel. Coach Skayhan has helped every program she's worked for reach new heights on the court, and I look forward to watching our volleyball program grow and flourish under her leadership!"
 
"I am so honored to be joining the USC Upstate family. Thank you to Chancellor Dr. Harris, Athletic Director Daniel Feig, and the entire search committee for entrusting me to lead the Upstate Volleyball program," said Skayhan. "It is clear that the ongoing development of women's athletics is a primary objective and I am inspired by their dedication to the process.
 
"The atmosphere within the athletic department is a powerful reflection of the character-based community in Spartanburg and I am thrilled to be a part of it. Having been guided by so many wonderful coaches before me, I am looking forward to continuing the legacy with the current team and beginning a new chapter of Spartan volleyball!"
 
Skayhan joins the Upstate program following a successful stint at Wofford College—spending the last three seasons as the program's associate head coach—where she helped engineer one of the most historic stretches of Terrier volleyball. During her four years with the program, the Terriers achieved their best Southern Conference regular season finish, their second SoCon Championship Game appearance, and had more players named All-SoCon than in the previous 21 seasons in the conference combined.
 
A former All-American setter herself, Skayhan has tutored a setter that has garnered All-Conference honors in each of the last three seasons while seeing a setter finish the season with north of 7.00 assists per set in each of her four seasons at Wofford. She has also tutored the only two Terrier setters to garner All-SoCon recognition.
 
In 2022, she oversaw the most efficient offense in Wofford history as the Terriers finished the season with a .226 hitting percentage with middle blocker Millie Loehr ending the year ranked 25^th in the NCAA in hitting efficiency (.391). For her efforts, Loehr earned Second Team All-SoCon honors under Skayhan's direction with middle blocker Sarah Barham and setter Victoria Hensley also earning Second Team and All-Freshman honors, respectively.
 
The season also marked a banner year in the classroom as four players were named College Sports Communicators—formally CoSIDA—Academic All-District honorees with the total doubling the previous number of recipients for the honor in program history.
 
Skayhan also helped Wofford to a historic run during the 2021 season as the Terriers claimed their best-ever SoCon finish, tying for third in the regular season standings before advancing to the SoCon Tournament Championship Game—just the second-ever appearance for the program. The season also saw Wofford set a then-program record for team hitting efficiency (.213) as setter Emily Hodsdon ranked 42^nd in the country in total assists with 1,149—the 10^th most in a single season in program history.
 
Along with Hodsdon, Barham ranked in the top 50 in her position's prime statistical category, ranking 29^th in the nation in total blocks with a program record 138. Both players garnered Second Team All-Big South honors following the year while middle blocker Sarah MacLean earned All-Freshman Team recognition.
 
During the 2020-21 season—a season shortened and pushed to the spring by the Covid-19 global pandemic—Skayhan helped Wofford to a semifinal appearance in the SoCon Tournament with middle blocker Riley Coonan earning a spot on the event's All-Tournament Team. The accoladed added to a long list for Coonan during the season as she earned First Team All-SoCon honors, AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region honors—the first such honors for a Terrier in program history—and CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.
 
Alongside Coonan, Barham earned Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors from the SoCon as she's the lone player in Wofford history to earn three All-Conference selections from the SoCon. Also earning All-Freshman Team honors was Hodsdon who became the first Terrier setter to garner All-SoCon honors in program history.
 
In her first season with the Terriers, Skayhan helped setter Lorissa King reach the 3,000 assists plateau for her career as she eclipsed the mark by averaging 10.25 assists per set during the 2019 season, the seventh-best single-season assists per set total in program history. She also helped the program collect top 25 statistical finishes in both aces per set (21^st in the NCAA) and total aces (22^nd) during the campaign.
 
Coonan and outside hitters Catie Cronister and Meghan Yaffa each earned All-SoCon honors with Coonan and Cronister taking home Second Team accolades and Yaffa finding herself on the All-Freshman squad.
 
Prior to making her way to the Hub City to work at Wofford, Skayhan spent two seasons as the associate head coach at San Francisco, helping turn around a program that had gone winless in conference play in the season prior to her arrival. In 2018, the Dons won a pair of West Coast Conference matches, the program's first league wins in nearly two seasons while in 2019, outside hitter Kathya Garcia—a member of Skayhan's final recruiting class—garnered All-WCC recognition, the first such recognition by a San Francisco student-athlete in five seasons. Overall, three members of her final recruiting class earned All-WCC honors.
 
During her coaching career, Skayhan's teams carry a tradition of excellence in the classroom, carrying a streak of five straight USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award distinctions with a sixth anticipated as the American Volleyball Coaches Association announces recipients in the summer of 2023.
 
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Skayhan was a standout setter at both the professional and collegiate ranks, following up her four-year career at Florida Southern with a three-year stint playing professionally in Europe.
 
In 2015, she helped Békéscsabai Röplabda SE (BRSE) Volleyball Club to a Hungarian Extraliga Championship before signing with Schwarz-Weiß Erfurt (SWE) Volleyteam in 2016. With SWE, Skayhan earned German Bundesliga 2 MVP honors, helping her club to a league runner-up finish before serving as the team captain as SWE transitioned to Bundesliga 1 in 2017.
 
During her collegiate career, Skayhan was one of the best setters in the history of the Florida Southern program as she twice earned AVCA All-American honors, a First Team nod in 2014, and a Second Team nod in 2012. She also finds her name littered throughout the Mocs record book, ranking fifth in career assists (3,947), ninth in career digs (1,323), and 10^th in career assists per set (8.42). She was also named a member of the Sunshine State Conference's All-Decade Team (2010-19).
 
In the classroom, she was a five-time member of the SSC's Honor Roll and a four-time recipient of the NACDA Academic Achievement Award. She was also the recipient of the AVCA Coaches 4 Coaches Scholarship in 2014.
 
A native of Portland, Ore., Skayhan graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Human Movement and Performance from Florida Southern in 2014. She and her husband, Sven, and daughter, Lyra, reside in Spartanburg.
 
All hires by the University of South Carolina Upstate athletic department are subject to an approved background check.
 
Testimonials for Coach Ali Skayhan
Lynze Roos, Head Volleyball Coach, Wofford
"Congratulations to Ali, the Upstate players, and our greater Spartanburg volleyball community. USC Upstate made an outstanding choice in bringing Ali Skayhan to lead its program. Ali is a player's coach who builds strong relationships and will truly impact the players in her program. Since watching Ali as a collegiate athlete to working side by side with at Wofford, you won't find anyone who brings more passion, knowledge, and thoughtfulness to the court."
 
Jill Stephens, Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator, Florida Southern
"USC Upstate has added a special leader to their athletic department. Ali Skayhan is extremely competitive, well prepared, and will relentlessly pursue excellence for her team. Her investment in relationship-building and empowering her student-athletes will be immediate. I can't wait to see her impact on the program."
 
Melissa Wolter, Head Volleyball Coach, West Florida
"Ali is an awesome hire! Not only was she an incredible player, as soon as she stepped into the coaching profession, she became a tireless student of the game. Her growth mentality about every aspect of this profession is unmatched. She's an excellent recruiter and trainer but most importantly, her passion is her relationships with her players. She's a great role model for every young woman she meets and she's very well respected in the volleyball community. I see great things in the future of USC Upstate with Ali at the helm."
 
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