Pepperdine women's volleyball Head Coach
Scott Wong announced on February 10, 2026, the hiring of former Pepperdine standout Alli Rust, who joined the program as an assistant coach.
Prior to Pepperdine, Rust coached at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. Rust helped coach outside hitter Abby Black to First Team All-GNAC (Great Northwest Athletic Conference) in the 2025 season. She also oversaw the development of middle blocker Hailey Cheney, who earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week on October 13, 2025, and an All-Conference Honorable Mention.
She joined the Nighthawks after serving as the head coach of the Centennial High School varsity program in Boise, where she was born and raised, for two seasons. She was also a coach with the Idaho ONE Volleyball Club. Additionally, she led the Idaho ONE 17 Elite team to win the club's first national championship in 2024.
The former Alli O'Harra, Rust's collegiate volleyball roots began with Pepperdine, where she played from 2017 to 2020. She earned spots on the WCC All-Freshman Team and WCC All-Academic teams, with two NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2021, Rust transferred to Boise State University as a graduate student, joining the Broncos' women's volleyball team. She played a key role in leading BSU to its first-ever Mountain West Tournament Championship, earning a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
In 2017, Rust graduated from Centennial High School in Boise. During her high school years, she was a four-year varsity middle blocker and earned multiple All-Southern Idaho Conference honors. She played for a number of volleyball clubs in the valley, helping her teams secure a Boise Bid Championship and a 19th-place finish at the 2016 USAV Junior Olympics.
