How Dawn Sullivan’s sets those around her up for success – on and off the volleyball court

Growing up in Marshall, Minn., a young Dawn Sullivan wanted to find a way to play volleyball by any means necessary. The future Missouri volleyball head coach was just beginning her volleyball career and wanted to get started at a young age.

“Where I went to elementary school, or really elementary all the way through eighth grade, it was a very small school, and there wasn’t enough girls to play volleyball in my school,” said Sullivan. “So I had to petition to play [in] high school as an eighth grader.” 

While on the high school team, she played with a group of seniors that took her under their wing. They helped spark her love for volleyball by accepting her as another member of the group.

“They didn’t have to allow me to do anything,” Sullivan said. “They could have made fun of this little kid and they didn’t. They let me be just me.”

After the seniors left, the team had limited success on the court. 

“When I was younger, that high school team was very good, and a lot of them went on to play college, and then by the time I got there, they were all gone,” Sullivan said. 

 It didn’t phase Sullivan, as she eventually committed to play Division 1 volleyball at Kansas State. 

Playing at Kansas State

Sullivan’s time at Kansas State was littered with accolades. She earned second-team All-America honors as a senior in 1999 and was later inducted into the Wildcats’ Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. 

The Wildcats made the NCAA tournament all four years Sullivan played on the team.

However, Sullivan faced adversity early on. She was forced to change positions during her time on the team. Sullivan had wonderful coaching that helped make the transition smooth.

“I was a middle [blocker] growing up [but] I was recruited as a setter, middle [blocker and] outside [hitter],” Sullivan said. “I then went through a coaching change after my first year, and that coach trained me to become an outside hitter.”

Her new coach was two-time national champion Jim McLaughlin. In his career, McLaughlin was a women’s volleyball head coach for 21 seasons and accumulated five Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards along with an induction into the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021.

“I was just so blessed to have Jim McLaughlin.” Sullivan said. “He really shaped a lot of parts of, like, how I coach, and who I am as a person, and what I believe, and so very thankful for him in my life.” 

Working in the sport

Throughout college, Sullivan realized that she wanted to make a difference through volleyball —  much like those seniors and McLaughlin made on her. 

After going to youth developmental camps that are designed to improve skills, she realized that her intended degree of nutrition and dietetics was less of a priority. Instead — she prioritized becoming a collegiate volleyball coach.

“You step on the court, and I just feel joy,” Sullivan said. “How much you can change people’s lives is really incredible with sport.” 

The first job that she accepted was an assistant coach opening at Illinois State University. Sullivan was off and running, as practices began the day after she accepted the job. Former Head Coach Sharon Dingman taught Sullivan the basics on how to handle players and truly become a coach. Dingman gave Sullivan an idea on how to not just lead the players, but to truly support them.

“Sharon allowed me to become a mother in coaching, but also allowed me to experience different things and share and talk,” Sullivan said.

After three years at Illinois State, Sullivan moved onto an assistant coach role at Iowa State University. She spent 13 years working under Head Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. At Iowa State, Johnson-Lynch has made the NCAA Tournament in 16 of her 19 seasons with two appearances in the Regional Final.

Although they didn’t know each other, Johnson-Lynch respected her dedication and commitment to the team.

“I didn’t know her very well,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Really just talking to other people about her work ethic, her competitiveness and just her commitment to being great at anything she does.”

Sullivan’s role changed greatly throughout her 13 years as assistant coach, and she slowly gained more responsibility as time passed. She originally started as the recruiting coordinator, helping scout talent around the nation while looking at the best fits for the program.

“She was instrumental in bringing in talent,” Johnson-Lynch said. 

Sullivan was thenpromoted to associate head coach. This gave her the chance to be more involved while learning the ropes of what it takes to be a head coach.

“[She] filled in wherever was needed, and we had her do a little bit of everything,” Johnson-Lynch said. “One of the goals was to get exposure to all the different parts of her program so that she was ready when it was her turn.”

The exposure Sullivan received led to her first head coach job at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Sullivan said her initial feeling when hired was fear.

Sullivan spent her first 22 years as a player and the next 17 as an assistant coach. 

These nerves did not show on the surface, leading the Rebels to a pair of Mountain West Conference Championships and two NCAA tournament appearances during her four year tenure. 

“I started again with some really good people that was just incredible,” said Sullivan. “It helped me kind of form some of my standards and code of conduct.”

Journey to MU 

Although she never previously lived, played or coached for the University of Missouri, Sullivan viewed it with extreme familiarity. She was no stranger to the Hearnes Center, spending many matches in the arena as both a coach and player. 

“I played against Mizzou for many years,” Sullivan said. “I remember playing in this facility.”

After accepting the job, she was happy to be back in the Midwest, where she grew up. She wanted to change the culture of a program that finished 4-32 the previous two seasons.

Joining her in the journey from UNLV to Missouri were assistant coaches Cullen Irons and Wendel Camargo. Libero Maya Sands made the decision to transfer to Missouri, following Sullivan after one year in Las Vegas.

“I just loved her as a coach, I didn’t want to leave her,” Sands said. 

Sands recently accumulated 1,000 digs in her career and won SEC libero of the year in 2023 as a sophomore. She wasn’t initially a libero, playing outside hitter until her last two years of high school. She credits much of her success to Sullivan.

“I wasn’t as sure of myself because I was in that role for a long time,” said Sands. “So when I got to UNLV with her, she told me, ‘Do you even realize how good you are? You can get to the next level.’ From there on, I never had any stress.”

Sullivan quickly turned the tide during her first year at Missouri, making the second round of the NCAA Tournament and winning SEC Coach of the Year. She earned high praise for her work with that team and how that season played out.

“Pretty unreal is what I’ll say,” Sullivan said. “And I even think back now, is just how special that group is, and the way they came together so fast and just bought in.”

But Sullivan still  hopes to take Missouri volleyball to even further heights.

 “We want to win a championship,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan kept the same mindset and nothing has changed for her, including her dedication to spread joy to others through the game of volleyball. 

Much like those high school seniors she played with when she was in eighth grade, Sullivan wants to continue to make an impact on future players. 

“It’s the fact that I can continue to impact people and they want to stay within the sport.” Sullivan said.

Edited by Dylan Heinrich | dheinrich@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Maggie Atkinson and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com