Max States is in his second season with the Pepperdine women's beach volleyball program as an assistant coach.
“Noelle and I are thrilled that Max States has joined our program,” said Sicoli. “He is an excellent addition to our coaching staff. Max is an alum and enjoyed a successful indoor volleyball career at Pepperdine under Marv Dunphy. He’s been coaching at the professional level on the beach for the last few years, and his hungriness and energy will be a great addition to our Wave family.”
States returns to Pepperdine after graduating in December 2017. During his four years at Pepperdine, States played on the men’s volleyball team and helped the Waves to a share of the regular season MPSF crown in 2014.
“I'm really excited to join this team and this staff,” said States. “I'm super stoked that it was able to come together so quickly and so soon. I really appreciate this team and this group of girls for being so welcoming and willing to listen to what I have to say, and you can really feel how everyone is excited to compete.”
Since graduating, States has been living in Santa Monica and has plenty of experience as a volleyball coach. He was a volunteer assistant coach at USC for the women's indoor team in spring 2018, the JV Head Coach at Malibu High School in fall 2018, the head beach volleyball coach (boys & girls) at Mamba Sports Academy from January 2019-2020 and assisted with the indoor program there. States has coached club through those same years at Pac6 and SMBC as well.
For the past two years, he’s been assisting Sara Hughes, Kelly Cheng and (former men's volleyball Director of Operations) coach Jordan Cheng in preparation for their Paris 2024 Olympic run, and has also been able to train with teams from Canada, New Zealand, and Japan.
Originally born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in La Canada, California, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine in advertising. Personally, States still avidly plays beach volleyball competitively, getting his AAA ranking in the CBVA. He grew up doing ballet for four years and was a nationally ranked tennis player.
