Playing and coaching volleyball opened Arica Nassar to an unexpected worldview.
“I’ve lived in a couple of cold places, actually, lived in Sweden and then in Finland in the Arctic Circle for a year,” recalled the Menifee, Calif., native. “It was different, but it was good for me. It was nice to experience a different culture.”
Nassar recently spoke with the MSR after a Minnesota volleyball spring workout at Maturi Pavilion, saying she never envisioned a life in volleyball beyond college, let alone playing overseas.
“When I first started playing in college, I just wanted to use it as an opportunity to get my education,” she said. Her father had hoped she would pursue a medical career after athletics, and for a time Nassar said she had considered that path as well.
“I was on track to go to med school, and I got my chemistry degree in 2015. Then volleyball kind of took over,” she said.
Nassar played more than 100 matches during her four years at Oregon State from 2011 to 2014, where she was one of two players in program history to record 1,000 career kills (1,033) and 500 blocks (540). She finished third all-time in blocks, 13th in points (1,380) and 15th in kills, leading the Beavers in blocks per set in each of her four seasons.
After Oregon State, Nassar played on two championship teams overseas, in Finland in 2015-16 and Sweden in 2016-17. Then coaching came calling.
“When I was overseas, my head coach at Oregon State called me and said, ‘I don’t know what your plans are next year, but UCLA was looking for an assistant , would you be interested?'” Nassar recalled. “Absolutely. My intention was to go to UCLA, get on staff, then go back to school and get my master’s.”
Nassar accepted a volunteer assistant position at UCLA, then returned to Oregon State as a full-time assistant for five seasons, earning her master’s in interdisciplinary studies along the way. Assistant stints at Oregon and Kansas followed.
Gopher Head Coach Keegan Cook hired Nassar in February as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. She is the only Black female on the volleyball staff and one of five Black female assistant coaches at Minnesota.
“A huge reason for coming to Minnesota is definitely Keegan Cook,” Nassar said. “I have been competing against him as an athlete and as a coach for almost my entire career. I’m a learner. I love to learn new things, new ways. He has a great volleyball mind. How he teaches volleyball and how he connects with his players is super important to me, and I’m here to learn from a great coach and a guy who I believe has the potential to win a national championship.”
Nassar is regarded as an up-and-comer in volleyball coaching circles. She made the 2025-26 AVCA Women’s Volleyball Coaches Watchlist in January and was a 2024 AVCA Thirty Under 30 award winner.
She is also fully aware that volleyball coaches of color make up between 6.8 and 7.2 percent of college head and assistant coaches, according to NCAA racial demographic data.
“I do see myself being a head coach one day,” Nassar said. “This is a topic super close to my heart. Being a Black female in a space where a lot of coaches may not look like you. I do think there are a lot of Black females wanting to become coaches, wanting to become head coaches, and wanting that next step in their career.”
FINALLY …
Eden Prairie native Niamya Holloway enters transfer portal after Sweet 16 run
Minnesota forward Niamya Holloway last week announced her intention to enter the transfer portal and play her final year of eligibility elsewhere.
Holloway, an Eden Prairie native, was part of former Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen’s all-Minnesota recruiting class for the 2022-23 season, the highest-ranked class in program history. That class helped lead Minnesota to the NCAA Sweet 16 this season.
Before the team’s first-round game against Green Bay, Holloway told the MSR, “I’m super excited to play in front of our hometown crowd.”
Through the family’s Team Holloway social media account, her family announced her departure: “Niamya understands her time has come to an end. It’s always been her dream to be a Gopher. She has been a leader on and off the court. Excited for her to find her fit.”
Holloway was named Minnesota’s Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community and Impact Award winner earlier this season.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@spokesman-recorder.com.