Casey Williams steps down as Montana State Billings volleyball coach

So, Williams explained that she made the hard decision of not renewing her contract as the head coach of the Montana State Billings volleyball team. In a school press release issued on Wednesday morning, MSUB announced that Williams has stepped down as the school’s volleyball coach.

“I had him right before the season this past year, and that was really hard with all the travel that we do, and we made it through,” Williams told The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports Wednesday afternoon. “And (her husband) Andrew (Bonner) was super helpful through all of that. But it was just hard to see a future where that continued and there was a lot of sacrifice from a family standpoint.”

When weighing her options on what to do, Williams said stepping away was the best choice for her and her family, and also the Yellowjackets program.

“My heart wasn’t in coaching anymore. I have an infant son, and it was just hard with the travel and hard with the expectations and that sort of stuff,” she said. “So, I wanted someone that was going to be able to dedicate themselves fully to the program, and the program deserves that, and I just wasn’t fully in it anymore. Me and my sister are actually going to go into business together now, and it’ll allow for a little bit more free time to be with my family and that sort of stuff. So, I want to stay in the volleyball community and Billings, just not quite in the capacity that I was.” 

The 2008 Billings Skyview graduate who began her tenure with MSUB in early February 2016 was the longest-tenured coach in program history and the second-winningest coach in team history, according to the MSUB press release.

The MSUB athletic department will begin a national search for the next head volleyball coach immediately, the school press release noted. 

This past season, the Yellowjackets were 7-21 overall and 0-18 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. According to the year-by-year volleyball schedule breakdown on the MSUB athletics website, Williams' overall record at MSUB was 71-166 and her conference record was 30-122.

Williams exits MSUB following nine total seasons in charge of the volleyball program, serving as head coach since the 2016 season. In her career, Williams accumulated the second-most wins in program history with 71. During her tenure, the Yellowjackets' had 12 all-conference selections, and 35 academic all-conference selections, per the school press release. Choteau native Christine Funk (2021-2024), a four-year starter under Williams, broke the program record in career digs. Accumulating 1,778 career digs to put her atop the MSUB leaderboard, Funk also ended her career 12th all-time in GNAC history the MSUB release detailed.

MSUB athletic director Michael Bazemore said that there is a lot more that goes into coaching at the college level than just wins and losses and that he appreciated all Williams did for the school.

“I mean, just her overall oversight and just the administrative areas. She was stellar in those areas,” Bazemore told The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports. “And community engagement with just the volleyball community and camps she’s held and just our overall department of events and supporting all of our programs. Obviously, the wins were not there in terms of what any coach would like. But, at this level, it’s more comprehensive than those things, even though that’s the most visible thing that you see for any program. It doesn’t show the full picture of how valuable a coach is.”

Williams said that while she serves the remainder of her contract through June 30, she would be running camps, booking travel and working on other administrative duties.

"I want to thank Michael Bazemore and (former MSUB AD) Krista Montague for the opportunity to lead the MSUB volleyball program," said Williams in an MSUB press release. "MSUB has been a home for me for the past nine years and I am incredibly grateful for the memories, relationships, and opportunities that I've had during my time. I will forever be a Jacket and I am looking forward to continue supporting the Yellowjackets both on and off the court."

Prior to joining the Yellowjackets, Williams served as head volleyball coach of Frank Phillips College (Texas) where she was the 2015 Western Junior College Athletic Coach of the Year. After graduating Skyview, Williams played collegiate volleyball at Spokane Falls (Washington) Community College and finished her career at University of West Alabama, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 2012. She has also been the head volleyball coach at Southern Academy High School (Alabama). 

"I want to thank coach Williams for her high quality of oversight and leadership of our volleyball program throughout her tenure," said Bazemore in the school press release. "Casey displayed great resiliency and professionalism and was great to work with. We could always trust coach Williams' decision-making process and she was always actively engaged in events and initiatives that extended outside of the volleyball program and department in general. Casey has been a staple in the Billings community and promoting MSUB volleyball and our brand; I am going to miss working with coach Williams on a daily basis and wish nothing but the best for her and her family in the future chapters in her journey."

Williams said she'll fondly remember her time at MSUB, noting she met Bonner, the school's Associate Athletics Director for Operations and Communications, while employed at MSUB.

"It was great. It's where I met my husband, and I have so many great memories," she said. "My husband actually is still going to work there, so I'll still be around the department and MSUB. ... But it just comes a time where I was ready to move on to new adventures. I have a lot of respect for MSUB and all the leadership and friends and relationships that we built there. It was just time."