Hannah Waters joined San Diego volleyball in July 2024 as a graduate assistant. She completed her second season with the Toreros in 2025.
With Waters as a graduate assistant, USD has won a WCC Championship (2025), secured an NCAA Tournament berth (2025), and developed:
- Two WCC Setters of the Year
- One WCC Freshman of the Year
- Seven All-WCC First Team selections
- Two All-WCC Second Team selections
- Three All-WCC Honorable Mention selections
- Four All-WCC Freshman Team selections
- Two WCC All-Academic First Team selections
- And three WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention selections
In 2025, Waters helped lead USD back to the postseason for the first time since 2022 as San Diego posted a 25-5 overall record and an 18-0 mark in WCC play. After going 7-4 through a formidable non-conference schedule that included four wins over Top-50 teams and clashes with five programs that went on to qualify for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the Toreros closed the regular season on an 18-match win streak and went undefeated in West Coast Conference play to win the 2025 WCC Championship and become the first team in the country to qualify for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. USD clinched the conference title with a memorable 3-0 sweep of rival Pepperdine before a season-high crowd of 1,103 in the Jenny Craig Pavilion on November 20, then completed just the third perfect WCC season in program history when it beat Gonzaga on Senior Day at the JCP nine days later.
USD’s dominant campaign earned it the WCC's automatic qualifier to the postseason and the No. 8 seed in the Nebraska quadrant of the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket, where it matched up with Kansas State at the renowned Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. The Toreros took the first set and rallied for a thrilling 28-26 victory in set three, but eventually suffered a narrow 3-2 loss to conclude a thrilling year that vaulted San Diego back to national prominence as it totaled the fourth-most victories in a single season in program history.
After the 2025 season concluded, Nemo Beach was named the 2025 WCC Player of the Year, Kylie Munday was named the 2025 WCC Setter of the Year, and Olivia Bennett was named the 2025 WCC Libero of the Year. Four San Diego players earned 2025 All-WCC honors, including four to the First Team, one to the Second Team, two as Honorable Mentions, and one to the Freshman Team.
Waters' tutelage also helped a Torero dynamic duo receive national recognition. Beach was named a 2025 AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, while Munday was selected as a 2025 AVCA All-Pacific Region Honorable Mention. Additionally, Bennett was named to the 2025 WCC Volleyball All-Academic Team, while Munday and Tatum Lane received 2025 WCC Volleyball All-Academic Honorable Mentions.
With Waters’ assistance, the Toreros posted a strong 19-9 overall record and a 14-4 finish in WCC play in 2024, tying for second place in the conference. The team’s season was highlighted by an undefeated run at the LSU Invitational and statement victories over No. 17 BYU and WCC rival Pepperdine. Isabel Clark was named WCC Freshman of the Year, while Kylie Munday earned WCC Setter of the Year honors. Clark, Kristen Erland, and Haylee Stoner were selected to the All-WCC First Team, Nemo Beach was named to the All-WCC Second Team, and Madi Allen and Kennedy Osunsanmi received All-WCC Honorable Mentions. Stoner was also recognized on the All-WCC Academic Team, with Olivia Bennett earning a WCC Academic Honorable Mention.
Waters came to USD after playing four years of Division I volleyball at Lamar University and Fresno State.
She played setter during her time as an undergraduate, tallying 1,385 assists, 637 digs, and 32 aces across nearly 100 matches with both the Cardinals and the Bulldogs. In her final year at Fresno State, she helped her team capture the 2023 Mountain West Championship.
Waters also held roles as a coach with FMTVA and Valley Volleyball Clubs, in addition to serving as a Strategic Communications Intern with Fresno State Athletics.
As a graduate assistant, Waters assists the USD volleyball staff with day-to-day operations, recruiting, liaising with the department's strategic communications team, and coordinating team travel.
A native of Litchfield Park, Arizona, Waters graduated from Fresno State in 2024 with Dean's and President's Honors and a Bachelor's degree in Communications.
