CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah University head women's volleyball coach Kacey Nady has announced the addition of former Division I Second-Team All-American volleyball player, Berkeley Oblad, as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.

Oblad was a standout player at the University of Utah, where she finished her career as one of four players in the history of the program to have over 1,000 career kills and 500 career blocks.

Since graduating from Utah in 2019, Oblad has spent the past three years playing professional volleyball overseas. Oblad began her professional career in Hungary; after her time in Hungary was cut short due to COVID she moved to Paris, France in September of 2020 to compete for SF Paris Saint-Cloud. After a strong season in France, Oblad moved to Taipei, Taiwan to compete for Top Speed in the Top Volleyball League, where she was recognized as an All-Star in her lone season with the club. 

Oblad recently decided to begin a career in coaching, and she will now hold the title of Assistant Coach of the Southern Utah Volleyball program.

"The day Berkeley was added to the staff was the day that this program got better," said Nady.  "She was a standout in the process because of how genuine and trustworthy she is, her eagerness to learn, and her priority - the culture. Her knowledge and experience from playing at such a high level is invaluable and will elevate our program to new heights."

Oblad spent time as a head coach with the 14U Club V Team during her sophomore year of college, as well as working summer camps for the Vegas Aces each of the past two summers and coaching at the University of Utah's summer camps all five years as a player.

"I'm incredibly excited to be a part of the program here at Southern Utah," said Oblad. "I am very impressed with what Coach Kacey has been doing here at Southern Utah, and all the things that she wants to do from a cultural standpoint. One of the things that I am most proud of from my playing career is how I focused on building a strong culture within the program during my time at Utah, and I want to help do the exact same thing here." 

Oblad began playing volleyball at the age of 8 and has earned countless recognitions and awards throughout her storied career.

As a high school standout at Coronado High School in Henderson, Nevada, Oblad was named the 2014 Nevada High School Gatorade Player of the Year during her senior season. She also earned recognition as an Under Armour All-American and led Coronado to back-to-back state titles in 2013 & 2014.

She went on to accept a scholarship from the University of Utah, where she earned All-American Honorable mention honors her junior year and was named a Second-Team All-American in her redshirt senior season. During her time at Utah, the Utes made two NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances and earned their highest finish in the Pac-12 standings since joining the conference. 

In the summer of 2018, Oblad was named to the USA Collegiate National Team, where she earned a gold medal at the Global Challenge Tournament in Croatia.

Oblad finished her collegiate career with 1,419 total points, 1,070 kills, and 522 blocks across 135 matches played.

Oblad received her Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design from Utah in May 2019.

The Thunderbirds will continue preparation for the 2022 Fall season, as Southern Utah Athletics will enter its first season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.