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Women's Volleyball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Alma Mater:
- UCLA, '93
- Year at UCLA:
- 13th in 2022
Michael Sealy stepped down after 13 seasons as head coach following the conclusion of the 2023 season.ย During his time at UCLA, Sealy helped win the program's fourth NCAA Championship in 2011 and compiled a 273-128 career record.ย
He led UCLA to 10 total NCAA Tournament appearances, including one finish in the Elite 8 (2016) and four in the Sweet 16 (2014, 2015, 2017 and Fall 2021). He also won one NCAA title as a student-athlete on the men's volleyball team his senior season in 1993. He has coached four Bruins to AVCA First Team All-American status.
In Fall 2021, Sealy earned Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year honors after leading the Bruins to second-place conference finish and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA climbed to sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 standings following victories over No. 22 Washington State and No. 8 Washington at the end of October. Itย was Sealy's first time accomplishing the feat in his career. The Bruins upended six NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season, including Regional Finalistย Georgia Tech. Mac May became the 17th Bruin in program history toย be named anย AVCA First Team All-American andย the third Bruin ever to earn three AVCAย All-American honors in a career. Zoe Fleck was also awarded AVCA Third Team All-America. May and Fleck both brought home to Westwood their second Pac-12 Player of the Year and Pac-12 Libero of the Year trophies, respectively. Also earning All-Pac-12 recognition was middle blocker Anna Dodson.
In the Spring 2021 campaign, the Bruins posted a 15-7 record, finishing fifth in a Pac-12-only regular season and reaching the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. UCLA posted victories against eventual National Semifinalist Washington, as well as NCAA Tournament teams Oregon, Utah and Washington State. Mac May (Second Team) and Zoe Fleck (Honorable Mention) were each named AVCA All-Americans, with Fleck, May andย élan McCall picking up AVCA All-Region accolades. Fleck was also named the Pac-12 Libero of the Year and one of four Bruins to earn All-Pac-12 First Team honors (May, McCall, Iman Ndiaye). UCLA ranked 19th in the nation in assists per set, 22nd in kills per set and 35th in hitting percentage, while also leading all Pac-12 teams in aps and kps.ย
In 2019, UCLA recorded season sweeps of USC and nationally-ranked California and Washington State, while also defeating eventual national champion Stanford en route to a 19-12 record. May (Second Team) and Savvy Simo (Honorable Mention)ย were both named AVCA and VolleyballMag.com All-Americans and eachย were recognized asย AVCA All-Region First Team. May earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors, while Simo was also named All-Pac-12 First Team. Sealy won his 200th match as head coach on Sept. 6 against Texas State. UCLA won six times against ranked teams in 2018,ย including itsย first win at Washington in 15 years. The Bruinsย also defeated ranked teams Baylor, San Diego, Utah, Arizona State and Arizona. UCLAย led all Pac-12ย teams in digs per set at 17.71, ranking 17th in the nation. May and Zana Muno were each named VolleyballMag.com All-Americans, Muno was selected as an AVCA All-American and May, Muno and Madeleine Gates were honored as All-Pac-12 members.
The Bruins posted a 21-11 mark in 2017, advancing to the Round of 16ย for the fourth year in a row.ย UCLA ranked 30th in the nation in dpsย (17.15), 35th in apsย (13.09) and 38th in kpsย (13.91). Sarah Sponcil, who was an AVCA and VolleyballMag.com All-American Honorable Mention selection, was 23rd in the country in aps (11.23), while Muno, an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and All-Region honoree, ranked 41st in dps (4.97). In addition to Muno and Sponcil's plaudits, Gates was named a Second Team AVCAย All-American and Honorable Mention VolleyballMag.com All-American, while Reilyย Buechler picked up AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region honors. The three AVCA All-American awards tied for the most in a single season in school history.
UCLA went 27-7 in 2016 and tied for second in the Pac-12 (15-5). The Bruins, whoย won theirย first seven matches for theirย best start to a season since 2006, won 10 times against ranked teams, including a season sweep of eventual national champion Stanford, the first sweep of the Cardinal since 2011, as well as a sweep of cross-town rival USC. The Bruins made their first Regional Final appearance since 2011. UCLA ranked sixth in the nation in dps and apsย and 13th in kpsย while also ranking first in the conference in dps and aps and second in kps. The dps mark of 17.88 was tied for the second-best total in school history. Four Bruins picked up VolleyballMag.com All-American honors, as Taylor Formico, the back-to-back Pac-12 Libero of the Year, was named to the First Team, Buechler to the Third Team and Jordan Anderson and Jennie Frager to the Honorable Mention Team. Those four, plus Torrey Van Winden (First Team), were selected to the AVCA All-Region Team.
In 2015, the Bruins posted a record of 25-8, as threeย Bruins were named AVCA All-Americans, tying for the most awards in a single season in school history.ย Formico, the Pac-12 Libero of the Year,ย earned Third Team honors, while Anderson and Claire Felix picked up Honorable Mention nods. All three players were also named AVCA Pacific South All-Region First Team. In June of 2016, Sealy wasย the head coach of the Pac-12 All-Star volleyball team which traveled to China.
In 2014,ย the Bruins finished 22-12, reaching the NCAA Regional Semifinals. 2016 Olympian Karsta Lowe earned First Team AVCA All-American and All-Region honors.ย UCLA led the country in kpsย (15.10) and apsย (14.26), the first time the Bruinsย led the nation in a stat category since 1997, while Lowe was tops in the country in kps and points per set. Sealy won his 100th match as UCLA's head coach in a sweep at USC.
Lowe was AVCAย First Team All-Region and Honorable Mention All-American in 2013, as UCLA went 15-15. In 2012, the Bruins posted a 23-8 record, finishing in a tie for fourth in the Pac-12 with a 14-6 mark and advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Two Bruins, Rachael Kidder and Tabi Love, were named All-American and All-Region. UCLA was second in the nation in kpsย (14.76), third in apsย (13.84) and fifth in hitting percentage (.295), which was also the second-best, single-season total in program history. The Bruins led all Pac-12 teams in hitting and were second in kps and aps.
In 2011, Sealy led the Bruins to the program's fourth NCAA title and seventh National Championship. The Bruins posted a 30-6 record and defeated four-time defending champion Penn State, No. 1-overall seed Texas, Florida State and Illinois en route to the championship. Sealy was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year. The Bruins finished second in the Pac-12 with a 17-5 record. Kidder, the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament, was a First Team All-American and All-Region selection. Zoë Nightingale and Lauren Van Orden were also named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. UCLA finished fifth in the nation in apsย (13.71) and eighth in kpsย (14.52). Among Pac-12 teams, the Bruins ranked first in aps, second in kps and opponent hitting percentage (.160) and third in dpsย (15.95).
In his first campaign, Sealy guided the Bruins to a 22-9 record, a fourth-place finish in the Pacific-10 Conference (11-7) and a Secondย Round appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA finished in the top half of the Pac-10 in digs (2nd, 15.41), assists (4th, 13.46), kills (4th, 14.26) and aces (5th, 1.20) per set along with opponent hitting percentage (4th, .187).
Sealy spent part of the summer of 2012 in London at the Olympic Games, serving as a scout coach for the U.S. men's volleyball team.
UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero announced on Feb. 10, 2010 the hiring of Sealy as head coach of the Bruin women's volleyball program. Sealy returned to his alma mater after spending four seasons (2006-09) as an associate head coach at the University of Hawai'i. He was a three-time All-American and an assistant coach for four years with the UCLA men's volleyball team and was an assistant with the Bruin women's volleyball program in 2005.
Sealy helped Hawai'i to a berth in the National Semifinals in 2009. The Rainbow Wahine recorded their second-straight, 30-win season last year, going 32-3 overall. They also posted a 16-0 mark in conference play to earn their 14th-straight Western Athletic Conference title and went on to claim their 10th-consecutive WAC Tournament championship. Sealy's record during his tenure at Hawai'i was 119-19 (.862 winning percentage).
Prior to his stint at Hawai'i, Sealy coached for four seasons at UCLA, where he was an assistant on the men's side from 2003-2006 and an assistant for the women's volleyball team in 2005. In his lone season on the women's side, the Bruins posted a 20-11 record and advanced to the Regional Semifinals. With the UCLA men, Sealy was 91-38 (.705) during his four campaigns, helping the Bruins to an NCAA Championship in 2006 and an NCAA Runner-Up finish in 2005. Sealy was also a volunteer assistant with the CSUN men's volleyball team in 2000 before working in the same capacity with the UCLA men in 2001.
One of the top setters in UCLA history, Sealy was a four-year letterwinner with the Bruins from 1990-93 and ranks fourth in Bruin annals in assists (4,749). In his senior season, Sealy and the Bruins won the program's 14th National Championship, going 24-3. The team captain was named the co-Most Outstanding Player of the 1993 NCAA Tournament and also earned ASICS/Volleyball Monthly Player of the Year and AVCA All-American first-team honors. In addition, Sealy was named an All-American in 1991 (first-team) and 1992 (third-team), as well as All-Conference three times. The Bruins won three conference titles during Sealy's playing days, going 80-24 (.769) during his four years.
Following his playing career in Westwood, Sealy went on to play professionally in Switzerland, Belgium, Holland and Puerto Rico. He also played with the U.S. National Team in 1994 and 1997.
Sealy graduated from UCLA in 1993 with a degree in physiological science.
| Year | Overall Record | Pac-10/12 Finish | Postseason |
| 2010 | 22-9 (.710) | 11-7 (4th) | 1-1 (NCAA Second Round) |
| 2011 | 30-6 (.833) | 17-5 (2nd) | 6-0 (NCAA Champions) |
| 2012 | 23-8 (.742) | 14-6 (T-4th) | 1-1 (NCAA Second Round) |
| 2013 | 15-15 (.500) | 6-14 (10th) | -- |
| 2014 | 22-12 (.647) | 11-9 (T-4th) | 2-1 (NCAA Regional Semifinals) |
| 2015 | 25-8 (.758) | 14-6 (4th) | 2-1 (NCAA Regional Semifinals) |
| 2016 | 27-7 (.794) | 15-5 (T-2nd) | 3-1 (NCAA Regional Finals) |
| 2017 | 21-11 (.656) | 12-8 (T-5th) | 2-1 (NCAA Regional Semifinals) |
| 2018 | 13-14 (.481) | 8-12 (9th) | -- |
| 2019 | 19-12 (.613) | 13-7 (4th) | 1-1 (NCAA Second Round) |
| SPRING '21 | 15-7 (.682) | 15-7 (5th) | 1-1 (NCAA Second Round) |
| FALL '21 | 25-6 (.806) | 16-4 (2nd) | 2-1 (NCAA Regional Semifinals) |
| 2022 | 16-13 (.552) | 10-10 (7th) | -- |
| TOTALS | 273-128 (.681) | 162-100 (.619) | 21-9ย (.700) / 10 NCAA Tournaments |
