Beginning his fifth year on the sidelines, Dave Ulrich takes over the reins as the interim Head Coach for the 2025 season.

Ulrich served as the assistant coach from 2021-2024, aiding his wife, Laura Ulrich, lead the Rattlers to three Lone Star Conference Tournament Quarterfinal appearances.

The 2024 team ranked 40th in the nation in kills per set (13.46) and 45th in hitting percentage (.230), as well as 23rd in assists per set (12.73).

Senior Dallasstar Johnson is one of only two players in school history to have multiple double-figure block matches and enters her final season ranked 12th at StMU with 243 total blocks.

The team’s blocking numbers have soared since Ulrich joined the staff as the 2020 Rattlers averaged only 1.5 per set (pre-Ulrich), while the team has averaged 1.75 or better each year since his arrival, including 2.09 per set in 2022, which is the seventh-highest average in the modern scoring format.

Both Alicia Virthe (2024) and Alissa Tolbert (2021) have earned First-Team All-Conference selections during his tenure with the team, while seven have been named to the All-Conference teams and a trio have earned All-Freshman honors.

He joined the Rattlers from Texas Woman’s University, where he served as an assistant coach for two seasons. Primarily working with the middle blockers and on blocking schemes with the Pioneers, he helped them make the jump from last in the Lone Star Conference to second in just one season as they averaged 1.63 blocks per set in 2018 and 2.26 in 2019. 

Prior to TWU, Ulrich was the head coach at King University, a Division II institution in Bristol, Tenn., for two years. While there, the Tornado improved from 11 wins to 18 in his second season, reaching at least the quarterfinals of the Conference Carolinas tournament each year. Five players earned All-Conference awards during his tenure with the Tornado. The team also stressed the importance of serving, ranking third in all of Division II with 2.16 aces per set in 2017 and 11th in the nation with 2.04 aces in 2018.

Ulrich was also the head coach at Randall University in Moore, Okla., for two years, leading the Saints to a NCCAA Division II Final Four appearance in 2016, as well as winning the ACCA National Championship and the NCCAA Southwest Regional Championship. Randall was 4-30 in the season before Ulrich’s arrival and in two seasons he improved that total to 26-13 and a spot in the national semifinals. For his efforts, he was named the NCCAA Southwest Region Coach of the Year in 2016 and in 2017 was tabbed to the AVCA Thirty Under 30 list.

During his time in Moore, Ulrich was also a coach and director of recruiting for the Oklahoma Charge Volleyball Club.

Prior to his appointments at Randall and with the Oklahoma Charge, Ulrich was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Lincoln Christian University, helping lead them to three NCCAA Final Four appearances in five years. In that time he coached five first team and one second team All-Americans as well as 13 scholar athletes.

He graduated from Lincoln Christian in 2015 with a degree in spiritual formation and ministry. He is married to Laura (Farney) Ulrich and the pair have two sons, Davey (4) and Daniel (1).