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Katy Ripp begins her second season as Stanford's assistant volleyball coach in 2003. She will share in all responsibilities of the program.
Before coming to The Farm, Ripp spent 2001 as the top assistant coach at Santa Clara University where she helped lead the Broncos to an NCAA tournament appearance.
"The thing that interests me most about Katy is she is a wonderful person," said head volleyball coach John Dunning. "She will be a great addition to the coaching staff as she brings a wide variety of experiences which we will utilize in defining her role."
Ripp played professionally from 1994 until 2002. She began her pro beach career on the Bud Light Four-Person Tour in 1994. One of four rookies selected in that year’s draft, she was chosen as a starter for Team Nike in her first season. With Team Nike, led by Gabrielle Reece, Ripp’s team won three tournaments in her first year en route to being named the Bud Light Surprise Player of the Year. Her team added two wins in 1995. Ripp was the first player drafted in the Bud Light Pro Beach Volleyball Draft in 1996 and added her sixth career win that season.
Ripp then played doubles on the beach. She and partner Jennifer Meredith played on the AVP tour. Ripp and her former partner Stephanie Cox placed a career-best third on the BVA Tour at San Diego in 2000. As a top-10 player, she has earned more than $24,000 in prize money.
In addition to her beach career, Ripp competed professionally indoors for the National Volleyball Association’s Orange County Diggers. Her 1996 team won the league title. Additionally, Ripp spent part of the 1994 season playing indoors in Ravenna, Italy. She also trained with the U.S. National Team that season.
Ripp spent the 1999 season as an assistant coach for Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park. While there, she was involved in all aspects of the program. She began her coaching career in 1998 as a junior club coach with Vision and Empire clubs and saw several of her athletes earn athletic scholarships. Ripp spent the 2000 season as a junior varsity coach at Los Gatos High School.
Ripp entered the professional circuit after a very successful collegiate career at Pacific. She garnered numerous awards, including her school’s NCAA Woman of the Year honor in 1992. During her senior season, the team captain was also named the team’s MVP while being named an Academic All-American. In addition to being a four-year All-Big West Conference honoree, Ripp, led the Tigers to the NCAA Championship match as a sophomore in 1990. She is currently fourth all-time in career digs in the Pacific record books, with 1,169. In 2001, Ripp was elected into the Tiger Hall of Fame as part of the 1990 squad.
Ripp earned a bachelor’s in sociology, cum laude, from Pacific in 1993. She received her teaching credential from Loyola Marymount in 1998.
A native of Petaluma, Katy and her husband Joe, who is a volleyball coach at Los Gatos High School, reside in Los Gatos.