Jason Holt, the only head coach of the Missouri S&T volleyball program since it was restarted prior to the 2007 season, begins his 12th season at the helm of a program that has won 135 matches and made two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances since the 2010 campaign.
In 2016, the Miners finished with a record of 11-19 and finished 6-12 in conference action. The squad also had its run of five straight appearances in the GLVC Tournament snapped.
S&T posted its second-highest win total in school history in 2015, winning 22 matches which included an 11-0 record at home, the first undefeated home season in school history. The Miners also finished 13-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference to place second in a division it has won twice during Holt's tenure.
Missouri S&T made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2014, the former of which came in a season where the Miners won the GLVC West Division for the first time in a 24-win campaign. S&T won the GLVC West again in 2012 and has reached the GLVC Tournament in each of the last five seasons.
In 2013, with a team filled with freshmen and sophomores, the Miners won their final two games of the regular season to advance to their third straight GLVC Tournament. The season was highlighted by a pair of wins over top-25 teams, as S&T earned its first-ever win over Indianapolis by defeating the 20th-ranked Greyhounds 3-0 to open conference play and later upset 25th-ranked Rockhurst 3-1.
Holt's 2012 squad won its second straight GLVC West Division championship by going 15-3 in league play. The Miners finished the year with their second straight 20-win season and once again advanced to the semifinals of the GLVC Tournament. Holt had five players named to the All-GLVC squad and Krista Haslag was named the Co-Freshman of the Year in the GLVC. Haslag also became the first player in program history to earn All-America honors -- the first of three she would garner at S&T -- while Jennifer Costello was named as the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for Division II volleyball.
In 2011, he guided S&T to a 24-10 mark, the most wins in school history and a 15-3 record in the Great Lakes Valley Conference as it was crowned as the GLVC's West Division champs for the first time. The Miners advanced to postseason play for the first time in school history making it to the semifinals of the conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA field of 64. He had three players earn first team All-GLVC honors while another earned second team all-conference accolades. He was also named the GLVC's Coach of the Year.
In addition to those honors Erin Bekebrede and Jocelyn DeMotte became the first players in program history to earn all-region honors as both were named to the Daktronics All-Midwest Region second team. Jennifer Costello was named to the Capital One Academic All-American first team becoming the first player in program history to be bestowed that honor.
The Miners also received the GLVC's sportsmanship award which they shared with Southern Indiana.
In 2010, Holt guided S&T to its first winning season in the program's brief history with a 14-13 mark and guided them to a 7-7 record in the tough Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Lady Miners defeated Bellarmine in Louisville 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 14-25, 25-21) on the next to last day of the season to secure the winning record. S&T was in contention for the final spot in the GLVC playoffs heading into the final day of the regular seaosn before falling at Northern Kentucky.
In 2009, the Lady Miners recorded double digit wins for the first time in the program's young history. S&T finished the season with five wins in GLVC play and was in contention for a spot in the conference tournament heading into the final week of the regular season. The Miners led the GLVC in home attendance for the third year in a row.
S&T finished 3-31 in 2007 with a roster that included 14 freshmen -- many of whom saw significant playing time during the season -- the Lady Miners doubled their win total in year two by going 6-27.
Missouri S&T came away victorious three times in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, winning two of the matches in five sets over Saint Joseph's and Wisconsin-Parkside. The Lady Miners also led the GLVC in home attendance for the second straight season.
In S&T's first season of play, one of the wins came in the Lady Miners' first home match when it knocked off Drury in four sets before their largest home crowd of the season.
“First and foremost, I’m extremely excited about working at Missouri S&T and having the chance to the Lady Miner volleyball program,” Holt said. “We have the chance to do something great and this university has a lot of things to offer that are attractive to the type of student-athletes that we need to compete in the GLVC.
Holt spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of North Dakota, where he helped lead the Sioux to their first two appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. He served as the interim head coach on two separate occasions. During the last three years, the Sioux had an overall record of 65-59 with national tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003.
The 2003 team beat ninth-ranked Minnesota-Duluth in the opening round of the NCAA North Central Regional before falling in a tight match to No. 12 North Dakota State in the next round, while the 2002 Sioux won 24 matches, tying the second-best total in school history.
Prior to his stint at UND, Holt spent two seasons assisting the program at Fort Hays State University and helped lead the team to a 16 1/2-game improvement in his second season.
“There are two things that I think are keys to building programs,” Holt said. “One is getting the right players into the program and the other is getting ones with the proper work ethic and the belief that we can and want to get the program going in the right direction. You need to have smart and dedicated student-athletes who will commit to make it a success right away.”
Holt, a native of Grants Pass, Ore., received his bachelor’s degree in physical education and interdisciplinary studies from Western Oregon University in 1995 and earned his master’s degree in physical education and sports administration in 2002 from Fort Hays State.
He began his coaching career at the high school level in 1989 as the junior varsity coach at Springfield High School in Oregon. After three seasons in Springfield, he moved on to head coaching stints at Central High in Independence, Ore., for three seasons and at Sprague (Ore.) High for four years before taking a position with the Front Range Volleyball Club in Denver, Colo.
Holt spent one year with the Front Range program before joining the staff at Fort Hays State.
