This post was updated July 28 at 9:52 p.m.

Almost 20 years since leaving Westwood, a former Bruin has traded batting for spiking.

Sue Enquist – a softball legend and UCLA Hall of Famer – brings her 30 years of experience in collegiate athletics to the United States women’s national team as a culture consultant for the women’s national volleyball team ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Enquist’s journey at UCLA spanned decades of unparalleled achievement. From leading UCLA softball to its first national championship as a student-athlete under coach Sharron Backus to winning three NCAA titles as the Bruins’ head coach, her imprint on the sport is indelible.

In her current role, Enquist focuses on cultivating team culture and fostering individual mastery.

“I work with a very specific area around team culture and individual mastery,” Enquist said. “I’m responsible for the opportunity to work with all these amazing women and how we can get them to their best selves and place them within a team.”

Coming from a softball background, Enquist said there is a lot of overlap between the two sports. Enquist said everyone’s voice matters – especially with high stakes – adding that channeling emotion sets players up for success.

“At the end of the day, we’re humans,” Enquist said. “If you’re asking a human to be part of a team, you want to be able to give them a voice; so we have a player-led culture that democratizes all their decisions and parts.”

Enquist joins UCLA Hall of Famer Karch Kiraly – who has served as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team since September 2012 – on the coaching staff. The third musketeer of the staff is the current UCLA women’s volleyball head coach Alfee Reft, who heads into his second year with UCLA and third year as an assistant coach to the national team.

In 2021, Kiraly guided the U.S. Women’s Team to its first Olympic gold medal with a 7-1 record, defeating longtime rival Brazil in the final. Team USA has earned a medal in each of the last four Olympics, the latest two coming with Kiraly at the helm.

In his inaugural season as head coach in 2023, Reft led the Bruins to an 18-12 record, securing three victories against top-25 opponents.

The partnership between Enquist, Reft and Kiraly underscores a shared commitment to excellence, something present in the way they coach.

“They are fanatical about individual and team improvement,” Enquist said. “They are obsessed with process and high accountability, and woven through all of that is humility and gratefulness.”

Enquist said her time as a Bruin taught her to cherish the journey, embrace the process and deepen her gratitude for the opportunities available.

“There’s a humility that Bruins share,” Enquist said. “All three of us, I think, were greatly impacted by our UCLA experience.”