Elliott and Longhorns Primed for Bid at Third Straight NCAA Title

Now in his 24th season as coach of the women’s volleyball team at the University of Texas, Jerritt Elliott is trying to elevate the Longhorns into rarified air: three NCAA Division I championships in a row. They made it two straight last year, sweeping top-ranked Nebraska in the finals to give Elliott, who was raised in Pacific Palisades, his third title in Austin.    

The second-seeded Longhorns swept Louisville to win the title in 2022 when they finished 28-1. Last year the Big 12 champs won 29 of 33 matches and became the first team in NCAA women’s annals to win back-to-back titles in finals sweeps. They also had to knock off three No. 1 seeds to win the title: Stanford, Wisconsin and Nebraska.

Elliott has piloted the Horns to 15 conference crowns (including 13 straight trips to the regional finals from 2006-18) and seven finals appearances. He grew up on Miami Way and graduated from Palisades High. He was selected Pac-10 Coach of the Year in both of his seasons at USC, where he led the Women of Troy to a No. 4 national ranking and a 29-3 record in 2000.

His father Mel was a world class track athlete and later served as Executive Director of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA.