PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland State Head Volleyball Coach Michael Seemann has announced the hiring of Laura Collins to his staff.

A former standout setter at Oregon State, Collins joined the Viking staff on February 1. She takes over for Jeff Mozzochi, who has moved into an associate athletic director position in the athletic department at Portland State.

"We are very lucky to have Laura back home to serve as our assistant coach for Portland State volleyball," said Seemann about the addition of Collins. "Laura's depth of experience and knowledge will be a tremendous asset to this program. Laura will eventually play a role in the development of our setters and offense. She will be a primary recruiter for us and assist on other aspects of the program. We believe Laura will have a tremendous impact in the gym, and with our student-athletes. She understands what it takes to win as a competitor in the Pac-10 and as a coach in the SEC."

Collins returns to the Pacific Northwest after spending the past two seasons as an assistant at South Carolina, where she coached the setters and helped with recruiting and administration.

In just her first season in Columbia, the Gamecocks made major improvements in their offense. Setter Bridget Denson-Dorman led the Southeastern Conference in assists and helped lead the league in hitting percentage. Denson-Dorman went on to earn AVCA All-South Region honorable mention honors, becoming the first Gamecock setter to capture an award since 2002.

As a player at Oregon State, Collins racked up 3,786 career assists, which ranks third in the Beavers' record book. She earned honorable mention All-Pac 10 status in each of her final three seasons and is one of just two Oregon State players to have ever been named the Pac-10 Player of the Week more than once. A two-year team captain, Collins also earned third team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII recognition in 2002.

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Collins graduated in 2004 from Oregon State with a B.S. in marketing. After leaving OSU, she coached on the high school, club and collegiate levels in the state for several years. She worked with the Canby Volleyball Club before assisting at Division III Pacific University in 2005. After a short stint with the Boxers, Collins returned to CVC as the head coach. In 2006 and 2007, she served as the head coach at Hillsboro High School.