FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton Director of Athletics Jim Donovan announced the hiring of Nichole "Nicky" Cannon to be the Titans new head women's volleyball coach. Cannon becomes the ninth head coach in program history. 

"I'm extremely excited to welcome Nicky Cannon back to Cal State Fullerton as the new head women's volleyball coach," Donovan said. "It became very clear throughout the interview process that Nicky was the perfect person to lead this program in the right direction. She has a natural ability to be a leader which will lead to success on the court while also demanding excellence from our student-athletes in the classroom."

Cannon returns to Cal State Fullerton after spending the last three seasons as head coach of UC Riverside's women's volleyball program. 

"Coming back to Titan Gym as head coach of the women's volleyball program is a dream opportunity for me and my family, as I accept this responsibility in the highest regard," Cannon said. "I look forward to helping create success not only with Titans Volleyball but the entire community." 

Last fall, Cannon led UC Riverside to its first 10-win season since 2017, highlighted by the program's first-ever win over Hawai'i. She capped off a Senior Night victory over UC Santa Barbara, and added an impressive fifth set win over Long Beach State on a 4-0 scoring run that sealed the win. She also guided newcomer Trinity Sheridan to an All-Big West Second Team honor. 

Cannon led the Highlanders to a 3-2 victory over UC San Diego in her debut as head coach on September 29, 2022. She reshaped Highlander Volleyball by bringing in an experienced setter, Taylor Hifo, who recorded her 500th career assist and the Big West's first triple double since 2018. Cannon helped guide Hifo to an All-Conference Honorable Mention and Bella Scarlett to multiple All-Tournament awards. 

In 2023, Cannon achieved the program's most conference victories since 2015 (5) and highest conference finish since 2019 (8th), while leading Mylei Vargas-Deason to an All-Big West Honorable Mention selection. 

She began her three-year career with Titans Athletics in 2019 as an assistant coach, overseeing Fullerton's outside hitters, defensive strategy and recruiting. In her first year, the Titans finished the season with a 12-15 overall record, collecting four conference victories. This marked the most total wins for the program since 2012 and most conference wins since 2013. 

Cannon coached numerous Titans to All-Big West awards in 2019, including Julia Crawford, whose rookie campaign marked the most kills (368) and total points (398.5) by a Titan since the 2014 season. Cannon's student-athlete development also left an imprint on 2019 Big West Honorable Mention honoree Savahna Costello, who ranked in the NCAA's top 20 with 5.31 digs per set. Under Cannon's defensive leadership, the 2019 Titans ranked in the top 25 nationally with 17.44 digs per set. 

"I am very excited to have Nicky come back to the Titan family," assistant athletics director Sara Perry said. "She has a strong leadership plan that will bring energy to the program, and I am really looking forward to the future of Titans Volleyball." 

Before her stint with the Titans, Cannon served three years as an assistant coach for both indoor and beach volleyball at Cypress Community College. During her three years as assistant coach, she helped Nancy Welliver win an indoor and two beach conference championships, as well as make two state tournament appearances. 

Cannon also served as Athletics Director and Head Volleyball Coach at Christ Academy High School in Wichita Falls, Texas from 2013-2015. While in Texas, Cannon also co-founded Zone-In Volleyball Academy (ZIVA), where she was the head coach for the 14's and 18's national team and club director from 2012-2019.

Cannon was also awarded the 2020 Diversity Award by the American Volleyball Coaches and was a keynote speaker at the 2020 and 2021 AVCA Volleyball Convention.

She graduated from Colgate University where she was a Patriot League All-Conference pitcher. She obtained her master's degree in physical education at Azusa Pacific and resides in Brea with her husband, Jerron, and two daughters, Rishae and Syriah.

"I am excited to build something special here and transform lives through volleyball for years to come," Cannon said. "There's no place like home. Once a Titan, always a Titan!" 

Committee members:
Jim Donovan, Director of Athletics 
Sara Perry, Assistant AD, CFO & SWA (co-chair)
Dr Michael Perez, Faculty Athletics Representative
Charles Kelly, Facility/Event Manager (Titan Gym)
Steve Carranza, Assistant Athletic Trainer (Women's Volleyball/ Track and Field)
Lauren Goins, Titans Women's Volleyball Alumna 

SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitansTickets.com. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan Baseball ticketing office and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday. 

FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), X (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans), YouTube (FullertonTitansAthletics) and TikTok (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the women's volleyball team has established its own Instagram (@Fullerton_WVB) and X accounts (@Fullerton_WVB).

WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home event exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Stadium. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.