Texas beach volleyball. (Source UT Athletics)
An accomplished athlete and Olympic Gold Medal winning coach, Angie Akers is joining Texas Beach Volleyball as an assistant coach, head coach Stein Metzger announced Wednesday.
“We are very fortunate to have attracted Angie to the Longhorn family,” said Metzger. “She is the most sought-after assistant coach in the country and it shows the excitement folks have for the trajectory of this program. Above all else, Angie values the relationships with the student-athletes under her care and for supporting the whole person in their quest for competitive greatness. Current and future Texas Beach Volleyball student-athletes will be the beneficiaries of the steady and positive influence Angie has on those around her. She will be the bedrock of this program. Angie is the perfect fit and I’m excited to start working side by side with her as we continue to build this program and its culture. I want to thank Chris Del Conte, Sarah Baumgartner, Jerritt Elliot and the rest of the Texas Athletics team for their continued vision and support in recruiting the best of the best to the Longhorn community.”
Akers joins the Longhorns after two seasons as Assistant Head Coach at Loyola Marymount. With Akers on staff, the Lions won back-to-back West Coast Conference Championships and made runs in the NCAA Championships.
“I am beyond excited for the opportunity to help build the Texas Beach Volleyball program,” Akers said. “To be able to work with and learn from Stein and help develop an elite program at Texas is an opportunity I could not pass up. Both Stein and the University of Texas are proven winners and have a vision for a program that I am excited and honored to be part of. Throughout this process, I have learned what a special place UT is and I’m honored to be part of the Longhorn family.”Loyola Marymount finished the 2023 season in the top-5 of the Final AVCA Collegiate Beach Poll for the third consecutive season after posting a 29-9 record and a fourth-consecutive WCC Championship. The ones pair of Melanie Paul and Vilhelmiina Prihti were named AVCA First Team All-Americans.
During the 2022 season, the LMU Lions finished the year ranked No. 4 in the final AVCA poll after posting a program record 32 wins. Akers helped coach the duo of Reka Orsi Toth and Megan Rice to AVCA First Team All-America honors.
Prior to joining Loyola Marymount, Akers coached the United States A-Team duo of April Ross and Alix Klineman to the Gold Medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Ross/Klineman won gold without dropping a set in any of their four matches and defeated Australia in the gold medal match.
“This is an incredible one-two combination for our beach program,” Texas Volleyball head coach Jerritt Elliott said. “To add a two-time Olympian and Gold Medalist is what every young player dreams about and Angie can help show them the way on and off the court. The combination of talent with Stein and Angie is elite but what is better is the type of people that are going to lead the women in this program. We are setting a strong foundation for this program with elite coaches that can empower women.”Her international coaching experience began in the Netherlands, coaching with the Dutch national teams from 2015-20. During that time, she helped lead Netherlands to the 2016 Rio Olympics and to victory at the 2018 European Championships.
Akers had a long and successful professional Beach Volleyball career following a decorated four-year playing career at Notre Dame. Akers played on the AVP Tour from 2002 to 2013 and was named the 2002 AVP Rookie of the Year. She also played on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour from 2003-12. From 2009-2012 Akers was also a member of the USA Beach National Team.
In addition to her exceptional volleyball career, Akers qualified for and completed the 2001 Boston Marathon in 3 hours and 24 minutes. Akers played volleyball at Notre Dame from 1994-97 and is the Irish’s all-time leader in service aces (239) and second on the all-time list in kills (1,577). A 1998 graduate from Notre Dame, Akers is married to former Fighting Irish All-American offensive lineman Jeremy Akers. (Source UT Athletics)
