University of California, Riverside Director of Athletics Wesley Mallette has appointed Branden Higa as the new head coach of UCR Women's Volleyball, it was announced on Thursday, April 24.
Higa comes to UCR from across town at California Baptist University (CBU), where he was head coach of the Women's Volleyball program. Before leading CBU, Higa spent three years as an assistant at Mississippi State.
"I'm thrilled to welcome Branden and his family to UC Riverside," Mallette said. "Branden is an outstanding person who is a tremendous developer of student-athletes both on and off the court. He is a great leader and will help usher in a new era of UCR Women's Volleyball. We are very excited about the future of the program under Branden's watch."
Under Higa, CBU produced more than 30 all-conference and 15 All-West Region and All-American honors each, with 12 All-Americans at the NCAA level. Higa has coached two Setter, Freshmen and Newcomer of the Year honorees in addition to the 2017 PacWest and D-II West Region Player of the Year.
Higa served as an assistant coach for Dani Bussboom-Kelly with the 2017 USA Collegiate National Team that won a championship at the European Global Challenge in Croatia. He coached players from Washington State, Kentucky, Stanford, Louisville, Wisconsin, and UCLA in the process.
While at Mississippi State, he helped the Bulldogs to an improved record each year and finished third in the SEC West this past season. Higa coached the blockers and hitters for the Bulldogs, including All-SEC honorees Caitlin Rance and Ashley Newsome, as well as heading up opponent scouting and assisting with recruiting for the program.
"I'd like to thank Wes Mallette and Michelle Almazan for entrusting me to grow and lead this program," Higa said. "It's truly an honor to be part of the history and legacy of UCR Volleyball, a program with national championship history in its DNA. I can tell immediately that there is a hunger to learn, grow and achieve here that is undeniable. We have a group of incredible people here and I look forward to the process of becoming the best we can be together - for the program and all the alumni of UCR Volleyball, for UCR Athletics, for the university and for the city of Riverside and all the Inland Empire."
Originally from Lancaster, Calif., Higa joined the MSU staff in 2009 after having served in 2008 as head volleyball coach at West Los Angeles College in Culver City, Calif. Higa also had a two-year stint as an assistant at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and a season (2005) as an assistant at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.
While at LMU, Higa coached one player on the AVCA All-Region team and five players on the All-West Coast Conference team and two more on the WCC All-Freshman squad.
Higa played collegiately for three seasons at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., where he earned a double major in international studies and public relations in 1998. He was a member of coach Marv Dunphy's nationally ranked volleyball program from 1995 to 1997. His team finished third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in both 1996 and 1997 and concluded the 1997 season with a No. 6 national ranking.
For seven years after his graduation at Pepperdine, Higa served his alma mater as coordinator of international programs and later as assistant director of the Office of International Student Services.
Prior to his time in Malibu, Higa won the 1994 California Junior College Most Outstanding Player award at Pierce College.
Higa and his wife Tori have a son, Kainoa, and daughter, Maile.
