DENVER – Megan Pendergast, a long-time assistant at UCLA, Oklahoma and Tulsa, has been named the eighth head coach of the University of Denver women's volleyball program, Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Ritchie Center Operations Josh Berlo announced on Monday.
 
Pendergast's introductory press conference is set for Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. MT at the Gottesfeld Room, inside the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness.
 
"Megan is a well-established Division I volleyball assistant with a bright future as a head coach. Her career has prepared her for this moment to lead the proud Pioneer Volleyball program," Berlo said. "All the people we've talked to about Megan reference her exceptional knowledge of the game, commitment to academic success and her tireless recruiting of high-character student-athletes. She will be a great addition to the incredible coaching stable we have here at DU, and we are exceptionally excited for her to get started."
 
In her career as an assistant coach, Pendergast has helped her teams to a 166-104 record (nine seasons), including 103-71 in conference games and 73-41 in home contests. Under long-time Bruins' head coach Michael Sealy in the final three years of his career, Pendergast helped UCLA to a 59-25 record, including 43-17 in the Pac-12. In those three seasons, the Bruins won at least one game in each of their three NCAA Tournament appearances and made it all the way to the regional semifinals in their final season in Westwood, the program's first round of 16 appearance since 2017. In addition to her assistant coaching responsibilities, Pendergast also served as the program's recruiting coordinator.
 
"I would like to thank Chancellor Jeremy Haefner, Vice Chancellor Josh Berlo and the search committee for putting their trust in me to take the Denver volleyball program forward," Pendergast said. "I'm thankful for my time with the head coaches I've had the opportunity to learn from at my four previous stops to prepare me for this moment. Everything that Denver provides checked all the boxes for me, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to get started with this current group."
 
Prior to her three seasons at UCLA, Pendergast spent a year on the Oklahoma coaching staff, helping guide the Sooners to a 17-11 mark in 2018, the program's best record since 2014. The Sooners' defense was 40th in the country and fourth in the Big 12 in blocks per set.
 
Pendergast arrived in Norman after four seasons as an assistant at Tulsa (2014-17), helping the Golden Hurricane to a 71-56 record in the program's first four years in the American Athletic Conference. In her final season in Tulsa in 2017, Pendergast helped coach a defense that finished 17th in the country in digs per set (17.83).
 
The League City, Texas, native played two seasons at Nebraska before spending the second half of her collegiate career at her parents' and sister's alma mater, Texas A&M. In her two years with the Aggies, Pendergast played 61 matches as the team's libero, posting 860 digs and 154 assists. Pendergast's 441 digs in her 2012 senior season were, at the time, good for seventh in Texas A&M's record book.   
 
The Pioneers will begin Pendergast's first season in charge this August.
 
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