Looks like Erik Sullivan just walked straight into the volleyball hot seat—and fans are not letting this one slide. So, picture this: LOVB just wrapped its debut season with the kind of finale that belongs in the sports movie hall of fame. Austin, led by Texas Longhorn royalty Logan Eggleston and Madisen Skinner, absolutely steamrolled Omaha in straight sets—25-19, 25-22, 25-23—at the KFC Yum! Center like they were born for this moment. But as confetti rained down and history was being made, fans started asking the big ol’ elephant-in-the-room question—where was the newly crowned U.S. Women’s National Team head coach? Turns out, Erik Sullivan—yeah, the very guy who’s supposed to lead Team USA’s women—was chilling in LA, catching a UCLA men’s game instead of showing face at the most iconic women’s volleyball showdown in recent memory.

“the women’s national team head coach being in Los Angeles at a UCLA men’s game instead of the LOVB finals really sums up the state of this federation,” Avid Volley said on April 13, and the fans felt every word. Someone else jumped in with, “Not to mention doesn’t he have a ton of ex players that he coached playing???”—and they weren’t wrong. Madisen Skinner, and Logan Eggleston both played under Sullivan during their NCAA days with Texas. Yet as they were making history, their former coach was nowhere in sight. Now the heat’s turning up—fans are rallying hard against Erik Sullivan’s LOVB gig just days after he ghosted the women’s squad.

Drama alert in the volleyball world! Avid Volley hit up X on April 24 with the big drop: “LOVB has announced Erik Sullivan has been named the new head coach of LOVB Austin.” But instead of hype and high-fives, fans came in hot with the side-eye. One user even hit back with, “with this, he will make the national team a texas 2.0 🫤”—and oof, the shade was real. It’s clear folks weren’t exactly jumping for joy over this move, especially given the not-so-distant tension still lingering around his national team no-show.

Before stepping into the shoes as the new U.S. Women’s Volleyball head coach, Sullivan had been living deep in the heart of Texas—literally. The guy was basically glued to the Texas Volleyball squad. The 2024 season? Yeah, that was his 14th year riding shotgun on Head Coach Jerritt Elliott’s staff. He wasn’t just vibing either—he was putting in major work with the Longhorns’ liberos and middle blockers, dialing in the defense.

During his time on the Forty Acres, Sullivan helped stack up a wild resume: 348 total wins, 12 Conference Championships, eight NCAA Final Four showings, 12 Elite 8 runs, and a shiny trio of National Championships in 2012, 2022, and 2023. The guy’s got hardware and receipts—but with all that Texas DNA baked in, fans are now low-key worried he’s about to remix the national squad into a burnt-orange remix. And honestly? They’re not keeping quiet about it. But this was just the tip of the iceberg!

Fans furious with the new Erik Sullivan decision!

Another user wasn’t holding back, dropping a blunt, “USA volleyball is so unserious.” And honestly? That pretty much captured the vibe all over X. Just earlier this year, USA Volleyball proudly rolled out the red carpet for Erik Sullivan, handing him the keys to the U.S. Women’s National Team. A big ol’ spotlight moment. The guy came in with a stacked resume from the women’s collegiate circuit, stepping into the shoes of the legendary Karch Kiraly—who, by the way, led Team USA to three Olympic medals and a World Championship title. While it won’t be until the 2026 LOVB season that Sullivan will take over the reins of Austin, he’ll still have the 2025 Volleyball Nations League to prepare for in between. That competition begins June 4 in Rio. Over all, fans have found it a bit difficult to digest that USA volleyball would have someone juggle professional and national responsibilities.

And this whole thing didn’t just pop outta nowhere—USA Volleyball had their foot on the gas from the jump. “With the Women’s National Team season set to begin in less than six months, we knew we had to move quickly but thoughtfully,” said John Speraw, USA Volleyball’s CEO. They were in hustle mode, aiming to lock in someone who could build a vibe with the squad, get a playbook rolling, and blend into the system fast. But now fans are looking sideways at it all, tossing around side-eyes and quote tweets like confetti. One even dropped, “They are never going to beat the ‘potential’ nepotism allegations I fear”—and whew, that one hit like a clean spike straight to the timeline.

Another fan jumped into the conversation with a side-eye so loud it echoed across the timeline: “And this is how we get stuck with Zoe and Saige in the Team USA gym.” Let’s rewind a little to the Texas volleyball days of 2022, when that squad was basically drowning in trophies. Logan Eggleston was doing Logan Eggleston things—aka securing the VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year award. Meanwhile, Zoe Fleck was out here locking down Libero of the Year, and Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres was setting fire on the court with some serious numbers as a setter. That trio? Absolutely unstoppable in burnt orange.

Fast forward to 2025, and surprise, surprise—both Zoe and Saige will be rockin’ the LOVB Austin jerseys under Coach Erik Sullivan’s new reign. So, yeah… you can see why the fans are connecting the dots. With this kind of coaching reunion brewing, fans think the next call-up might just come from Austin’s backyard, and not all of them may like it. Cue the dramatic sighs, because as one user hilariously dropped, “Every day on this earth gets worse.”