Former Division I indoor and beach volleyball player and assistant coach Sydney Wetterström has been named the first-ever head coach of the Pacific beach volleyball program.

“I am thrilled to be adding the new position to Pacific Athletics,” Director of Athletics Janet Lucas said. “This marks a new opportunity for these student-athletes to grow and for the program to reach new levels of success—and Sydney is the perfect individual to step into this role.”

Greg Gibbons, who is headed into his 14th season as head coach of the Pacific indoor volleyball team, was the inaugural head coach of the beach team in 2013, leading the program for the first 11 seasons.

Wetterström comes to Pacific after serving as an assistant beach coach at Southern Mississippi during the 2023 season, where she helped guide the Golden Eagles to 18 wins, the most in program history. In her lone season, she helped lead the program to a Sun Belt Conference championship semifinals berth after wins over Mercer, University of Louisiana Monroe and second-seeded College of Charleston.

“I am extremely excited and honored to be the head beach volleyball coach at Pacific,” Wetterström said. “It is a privilege to work with such dedicated, well-rounded and passionate student-athletes. I am thankful for Pacific’s administration and Greg Gibbons for the opportunity ahead and look forward to building the program.”

Before Southern Miss, Wetterström was an assistant for the indoor volleyball team at Akron during the 2022 season.

A former Division I standout in indoor and beach volleyball, Wetterström spent four seasons competing at Michigan from 2016 until 2019 before transferring to Florida State to play one season of beach volleyball in 2020.

During her time with the Wolverines, the team accumulated a 90-44 record, averaging 22.5 wins a season, and appeared in four straight NCAA tournaments. Wetterström notched 624 kills on 1,663 attacks, a .196 attack percentage, with 36 assists, 400 digs, 109 blocks and 711 points.

In her lone season with the Florida State beach volleyball team, Wetterström guided the Seminoles to a 12-1 record in a shortened season.

“With Sydney’s volleyball experience as a player and a coach, holistic approach with her student-athletes and passion for the game, we are truly excited about the future of this program,” Lucas added.

Wetterström is community minded, having co-founded the Student-Athlete Sexual Health support group and serving as the head mental health representative on the Michigan Student-Athlete Athletic Counsel. She also helped found the LGBTQ Student-Athlete Organization at Michigan in December 2019.

Wetterström, a double major, earned a Bachelor of Science in Health and Fitness and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Michigan in 2020. She earned her Master’s in Social Work with an emphasis in Clinical Counseling in 2022 from Florida State.