Coach Navalta before a BYU Hawaii match, arms out in a shaka greeting

About the coach

Dr. Wilfred Navalta

BYU Hawaii women's volleyball, 1985 to 2012. Ed.D.

  • 10 national championships: eight NAIA and two NCAA Division II
  • 81% all-time winning record: 609 wins, 145 losses
  • 18 First Team All-Americans produced
  • 5 Players of the Year and 5 All-American Scholar Athletes
  • 9 National Coach of the Year awards: 1986, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2012
  • Inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame, 1994
  • 3 Hawaii Sportsperson of the Year awards: 1987, 1991 and 1996

The method

The VBSET system focuses on offensive and defensive tactics before individual technique. Every situation is scored, every score becomes a baseline, and every baseline gets a criterion to beat. The team knows the standard it is judged by, which removes the frustration from coaching conversations.

Underneath the tactics sits a priority order called the Triangle: character first, education second, volleyball third. Players came from Japan, Brazil, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Serbia, Romania, Italy, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. A shared standard of conduct held them together.

The right effort brings the right results.

Ten national titles

  1. 1986NAIA
  2. 1987NAIA
  3. 1991NAIA
  4. 1992NAIA
  5. 1994NAIA
  6. 1995NAIA
  7. 1996NAIA
  8. 1997NAIA
  9. 1999NCAA Division II
  10. 2002NCAA Division II

NAIA Hall of Fame, 1994

Coach Navalta holding the NAIA Hall of Fame plaque at his induction, November 1994
Receiving the NAIA Hall of Fame plaque, November 1994.
NAIA Hall of Fame certificate for Wilfred Navalta, awarded for outstanding achievement as a coach in volleyball
The NAIA Hall of Fame certificate, outstanding achievement as a coach.

AVCA Division II National Coach of the Year, 2012

Coach Navalta receiving the AVCA Division II National Coach of the Year award on stage, December 2012
Receiving the AVCA Division II National Coach of the Year award, December 2012.

Signature wins

From the huddle

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