Haven O’Quinn was named Birmingham-Southern volleyball’s sixth coach on June 1, 2017. She boasts a 79-25 overall record, and a conference record of 44-8.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 volleyball season was pushed to the spring of 2021. In an abbreviated 10-game regular season O'Quinn coached the team to a 8-2 record, before sweeping through the conference tournament to collect the Panthers first SAA Tournament Championship. The Panthers beat Oglethorpe in 3-0 in the semifinals before facing Berry in the championship game. BSC swept Berry to win the SAA Tournament Championship, and get the automatic qualifier bid into the NCAA tournament. The 2020-21 season marked the fourth straight year BSC and Berry met in the championship game.
The Panthers have flourished since O’Quinn took the helm. She led BSC to its first ever Southern Athletic Association title in 2019, posting a 13-1 conference record before making their third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. The team finished the season with a 24-7 overall record with upsets over top 10 opponents. BSC also racked up the accolades in 2019. O’Quinn was named SAA Coach of the Year and Alyssa Coats earned SAA Newcomer of the Year.
There were six all-conference selections, including SAA Woman of the Year Rebecca Erwin who earned an American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week nod during the season. Erwin was also an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee and broke the programs all-time blocks record. On top of the honors, the team ranked top 10 nationally in three categories, including second in blocks per set, with six individuals ranked across 11 categories.
O’Quinn’s second season was one of the most successful in BSC history. She led the Panthers to a 25-7 overall record, the most wins since 2015, and a second place finish in the Southern Athletic Association for the second consecutive year with a 12-2 conference record. The Panthers rode an 18-match win streak with big wins over top 10 opponents to a No. 21 ranking by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. This was the highest the Panthers had ranked nationally in program history to date and earned them their second consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Their performance on the court led to seven all-conference nods, more first and second team selections than any other program in the league. Jeneva Salter and Caroline Johnson earned AVCA All-Region honors for their play. And Salter went on to become an honorable mention All-American.
In her first year at the helm, she led the Panthers to an at-large NCAA Tournament bid and 20-9 overall finish. Under O’Quinn, starting middle blocker Julia Denby was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American. Denby was also one of two Panthers to earn AVCA All-Region honors and one of the four selected to Southern Athletic Association All-Conference teams. In 2017, BSC finished top 20 in the country for team attacks per set and saw five individuals rank nationally.
She was formerly the head coach of Alabama 7A state champion Mountain Brook High School. In five seasons with the Spartans, O’Quinn led them to three consecutive 7A titles including the school’s first volleyball state championship starting in 2014. In 2013, the Spartans made it to the Elite-8 state tournament and advanced to the final four.
O'Quinn is a Daphne, Ala. native. Her coaching experience extends over 10 years with stints at Pelham High School and several club volleyball teams. She graduated from Troy University, where she played for four years and currently is top five in several individual and career record categories. O’Quinn is one of three players in Troy’s NCAA Division I history to have over 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.
She has one daughter, Carsyn.
