Dawn Sullivan - Volleyball Coach - Iowa State University Athletics

Dawn Sullivan

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
sullivan@iastate.edu
Phone:
4-9615

Dawn Sullivan is in her 14th season as associate head coach at Iowa State, and boasts a tremendous record of success as both a player and a coach.

Sullivan's responsibilities include coaching outside hitters. In 13 years under Sullivan, the Cyclones have recorded 10 of the top-11 single-season hitting percentages in school history, including a school-record .259 hitting percentage in 2010.

The past two seasons, Sullivan has been responsible for transitioning a pair of middle blockers to the pins. In 2016, it was Samara West going to the right side, where she would earn a pair of All-Big 12 honors. In 2017, Sullivan helped guide a mid-season transition of Alexis Conaway to six-rotations outside hitter, a move which saw Conaway become ISU’s first “Triple-Triple” player since 2011.

The latest Sullivan success story comes via Jess Schaben. After an extremely successful 2015 that saw her earn Big 12 and AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year, Sullivan and Schaben had the new challenge of making the sophomore into a six-rotations player. The hard work by the duo paid off, with Schaben earning AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors, AVCA All-Midwest Region Team recognition and All-Big 12 First Team each of the past two seasons.

2014 saw Sullivan’s hard work with Victoria Hurtt pay off as the senior bounced back from a rough 2013 to rank second on the Cyclones in kills at 2.66 per set and earn her second All-Big 12 First Team honors of her career. Sullivan’s previous efforts with Hurtt saw the Kansas City native earn AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2012 after recording 3.03 kills per set.

Iowa State’s long line of successful hitters continued in 2013 as right side hitter Mackenzie Bigbee became the 10th All-American in ISU program history. Bigbee led the Cyclones with 324 kills at 3.21 per set and Sullivan also assisted in Bigbee’s transition to playing all six rotations.

Under Sullivan's tutelage, Victoria Henson and Carly Jenson each earned AVCA All-America honors for their success on the outside. Henson was just the third Cyclone ever named to the all-America first team and Jenson earned her honor as a senior in 2011. After playing a limited role in her first two seasons, Jenson was thrust into the starting lineup in 2010. In two years, Sullivan turned Jenson from a part-time player into one of the best outside hitters in the nation culminating in an All-America second team selection and unanimous selection to the First Team All-Big 12.

Sullivan came to Iowa State after serving as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Illinois State for three seasons (2002-04), helping build a strong Redbird volleyball tradition. Her playing career at Kansas State was brilliant. Sullivan, like ISU head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, is one of the best players in Big Eight/Big 12 Conference history. The former KSU All-American still ranks prominently in the Wildcat and Big 12 record books.

As a coach, Sullivan was instrumental in helping Illinois State post winning seasons in each of her three years in Normal, Ill. Sullivan helped the Redbirds post their 23rd consecutive winning season in 2004. In her three years at Illinois State, three Redbirds earned all-conference honors. Her efforts helped Illinois State draw tremendous crowds that ranked among the top-20 nationally in attendance in 2003.

Sullivan also helped forge strong alumni support system through her organization of an annual alumni reunion gathering, in addition to assisting in the foundation of "Point Illinois State," a booster club designed specifically for Redbird volleyball. She was a key member of the Illinois State athletic department and was a highly respected ambassador for the Redbird volleyball program.

Sullivan's coaching career also includes a stint as a student assistant at Kansas State and as a club coach with the Flint Volleyball Club in Manhattan, Kan.

Sullivan was a record-setting collegiate player at Kansas State. The 5-10 outside hitter, who played for the Wildcats from 1996-99, racked up 1,611 kills and 1,258 digs in her remarkable career, one of only five KSU players to record more than 1,000 kills and digs in a career. Sullivan ranks third all-time in kills and fourth in digs at the school. In 2016, Sullivan was inducted into the Kansas State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Named an All-American and All-Big 12 as a senior, Sullivan captained the 1999 Wildcat squad, which made the school's fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance en route to Kansas College Female-Athlete-of-the-Year honors in 2000. Sullivan also earned first-team academic All-Big 12 distinction in each of her four seasons at KSU. Following graduation, Sullivan played professionally for the Grand Rapids Force of the United States Professional Volleyball League.

Sullivan and her husband, Josh, have three daughters (Katie, Sarah and Emily) and a son (Matthew).