As the daughter of an Anchorage coaching legend, Morgan Hooe was practically raised on a volleyball court and started her coaching career from her dad’s lap.

Virgil’s kid has grown up, and on Monday, she was given the keys to the kingdom.

Hooe, 30, was named UAA head coach by acting Seawolf athletic director Tanya Pont in a move that saw Hooe promoted after spending the last three seasons as the top assistant to former bench boss Stacie Meisner, who is now at Metro State in Denver.

A former two-time All-American setter and GNAC Player of the Year at UAA, Hooe was part of four straight NCAA Tournament squads from 2013 to 2016 and led the Seawolves to the national title match as a senior.

“We are thrilled to announce Morgan as the new head coach for UAA volleyball,” Pont said in a statement. “A legendary alumna, Morgan set a benchmark for what it means to be a Seawolf.”

Prior to joining the UAA coaching staff in 2023, Hooe was a volunteer assistant at the school in 2017 and 2018.

In her nine total seasons on campus, the Seawolves have won three GNAC titles and qualified for the NCAA Tournament six times.

“I’m incredibly humbled and honored,” Hooe said of becoming the eighth head coach in 47 years of UAA volleyball history. “Growing up in Anchorage, rooting for the Seawolves as a kid, and then having the chance to play four seasons here, I can truly say that this is a dream come true.”

UAA Volleyball

Head Coaching History
1980-84 Kerry McCaig 69-77
1985-95 Judy Lee 195-173
1996-97 Kerry Major 33-30
1998-04 Kim Lauwers 106-91
2005-07 Michelle Earl 17-58
2008-22 Chris Green 313-116
2023-25 Stacie Meisner 55-35
2026- Morgan Hooe

Hooe earned her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from UAA in 2018 and her masters in sports administration from Arkansas State University in 2023.

“Our search focused on identifying a leader who could continue our tradition of excellence academically, competitively, and within the community, while fully embodying the values of Seawolf athletics,” Pont said. “Morgan’s vision, passion and deep ties to UAA make her uniquely qualified to guide this program forward and mentor our student-athletes at the highest level.”

Hooe has been A1 since Day 1, starting her coaching career as a ‘mini me’ sitting alongside Virgil on Midnight Sun summer trips.

“She’s 9 years old and she’s yelling, ‘You’ve gotta get low to pass the ball,’” Virgil told the ADN in 2016. “Here’s a 9-year-old getting on a varsity-level kid. What it told me was how much she was observing the game, taking in the game and processing the game.”

Hooe went on to become a high school star at South, racking up 1,136 assists in her final two seasons.

She made an immediate impact as a freshman at UAA and by her sophomore season the team moved to a one-setter offense. As a junior she earned all-conference, all-region and All-American honors for a 27-3 team that spent most of the season in the national rankings before losing in the second round of the West Regions.

As a senior, Hooe was the centerpiece for a 34-3 team that marched to the national title match before losing to No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul. That year, she reunited with her dad, who joined the UAA staff as a volunteer assistant.

Virgil Hooe had a hand in winning 17 Class 4A state titles during an illustrious career, starting at West in the late 1970s before he turned Service into a juggernaut in the 80s and 90s with 10 state championships in 21 seasons. When South opened in 2004, he became an assistant to head coach Judy Knecht and was part of six more titles.

Morgan started her coaching career from her dad’s lap, went on to become a two-time Cook Inlet Conference Coach of the Year at Service in 2021 and 2022, and will now call the shots for her hometown college team.

“I want to thank the search committee and Ms. Pont for believing in me and providing the opportunity to prove myself as a head coach,” she said. “I’m extremely excited to continue the strong volleyball tradition at UAA established by my predecessors.”