With more than a decade of coaching experience at the club and collegiate level, Nicole Miller returns for her fourth season on the sidelines with the UC Davis women’s volleyball program – and her first as the program’s associate head coach – in 2020, coordinating the program’s recruiting efforts as well as assisting in all aspects of the program.
"Nicole has been a critical piece to our staff the last three seasons, bringing a fantastic work ethic, talent, and experience, that has been an integral part of our success," Conners said. "She has invested an incredible amount of time and energy into our student-athletes and is a fantastic role model for them.
"Nicole has been a lot of fun to work with and has been essential part of our recruiting efforts helping us to bring in student-athletes that excel both on the court and in the classroom. I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Nicole the past three seasons and I am excited she is a part of building the future of Aggie volleyball."
She also works closely with the UC Davis middle blockers, helping a pair of Aggie middles to rank among the top 10 in the Big West Conference in hitting percentage in 2019 (rising junior Josephine Ough was second at .386 with rising senior Alexa Rockas standing sixth at .315), while Ough stood fifth in the league in blocks at 1.08 per set and 103 overall.
In her three previous seasons, she has also helped UC Davis rank among the top four in the Big West in blocks, including standing third in the conference in 2017.
During her tenure with the Aggies, Miller has helped mentor seven student-athletes to a total of 10 All-Big West Conference awards, including five first-team honorees, a league freshman of the year, and three selections to the conference’s all-freshman team.
Off the court, the Aggies have excelled as well, as a total of 11 student-athletes have gone on to earn 18 Big West All-Academic Team laurels. The seven honorees in 2019 are tied with the 2016 squad for the second-most in the history of the program behind only the nine selections in 2013.
Miller originally hails from Stockton, Calif., and St. Mary’s High School, but enjoyed her collegiate playing career and her two most recent coaching stops in the South Atlantic end of the country. She arrived at UC Davis by way of Clemson, where she ran the Tigers’ recruiting efforts and mentored the program’s blocking defense for two seasons.
Prior to her stop at Clemson, Miller spent one season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Charlotte, where she helped the program to its highest win total since 2006 and its first Conference USA tournament berth in four years. This stint followed a two-year top at Cincinnati, where her recruiting expertise landed an eventual American Athletic Conference Setter of the Year honoree.
Miller also served as an assistant and recruiting coordinator at Houston (2010-12), which followed her first coaching position, a graduate assistant role at Ole Miss (2008-10). She also coached at the club level, mentoring the Atlanta-based A5 Mizuno Volleyball Club from 2006 to 2008.
Formerly a standout for St. Mary’s HS and Delta Valley VBC, Miller played her collegiate ball for South Carolina from 2002 through 2005. She served as team captain for three seasons, and posted blocking totals of 106 and a team-high 105 during her junior and senior years, respectively. Besides her on-court success, Miller also captured two Southeastern Conference Good Works Team nods for her volunteer efforts in the community. In the classroom, she made the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2005.
