The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is proud to announce the University of Alberta – Augustana Vikings Women’s Volleyball head coach Steve Enright the 2023-24 ACAC Women’s Volleyball North Coach of the Year.
Under Enright’s leadership, the Vikings secured their highest-ever Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association’s (CCAA) national ranking, jumping from fourteenth to fifth after a weekend sweep of the former number five. In the weeks following, the team’s nine-game win streak moved them into fourth in rankings, which they locked down by the conclusion of the conference season.
Starting the season with a 7-3 record, the team came back in 2024 to go on a nine-game run, keeping a perfect conference record in the calendar year and peaking at the right time to challenge for the conference title.
“Steve embodies everything you could ask for from a head coach of a varsity program,” says Aly Andersen, Vikings Administration & Communications Coordinator. “The team’s success in the classroom and on the court speaks for itself, however, his work behind the scenes to develop an all-round program from Alumni engagement to recruitment to team culture is what sets him apart and makes him deserving of this award for the third time in his head coaching career, so far.”
Since being named head coach of the Vikings in 2019, Enright has been named the north coach of the year three times (2020, 2022, 2024) and was nominated as CCAA Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2022. During his time as a bench boss, the team earned their first-ever ACAC medal, claiming Silver at the 2023 ACAC championship in Red Deer and qualified for their first CCAA National Championship in the same year.
Enright was recognized in front of his peers at the 2024 ACAC Women’s Volleyball Championship banquet hosted by the Lethbridge Kodiaks and was honoured alongside All-Conference student-athletes Shae Boyes and Emily Peterson. The Vikings will take on their first opponent on Thursday, February 22 starting at 1 pm at Val Matteotti Gym and on ACACTV.