Victoria Brown, former Illinois standout on the court and a youthful, innovative mind on the sidelines, joined the San Francisco volleyball staff in the spring of 2016 and was announced as the 10th head coach in program history in May of that same year. Brown served in the head coach capacity at USF until the spring of 2017 when she accepted a position on the staff at Iowa.
Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Brown previously served on the staff at UC Davis for two seasons. Prior to her time with the Aggies, she spent two years under Melissa Myers at Illinois State, helping the Missouri Valley Conference members to a combined 37-25 record. Her primary duties included defensive strategy, scouting and recruiting, while her on-court responsibilities were working with the Redbird middles. In 2013, under Brown's tutelage, Emily Schneider and LeighAnn Hranka ranked among the top three MVC leaders in blocks, and the Illinois State defense led the conference with a .153 opposing attack average.
Preceding her stint with the Redbirds, Brown served as a volunteer assistant at Toledo, where she worked with the opposites, liberos and defensive specialists. She also served as the head coach for the Toledo Volleyball Club 14s and 15s squad, becoming the leading expert in implementing training ideas for all other age-group coaches.
Along with a budding coaching resume, Brown's prowess as a player allowed her to enjoy a professional career with stops in Austria, Puerto Rico and Spain. As a collegian at Illinois, Brown twice earned All-Big Ten honorable mention as a middle blocker, ranking among the league's top 10 hitters in each of her final two seasons. For her career, she amassed more than 1,000 career kills, broke the century mark in blocks for three straight years, and took home a total of six tournament MVP honors before graduating in 2008 with a degree in communications.
