Three-time women’s volleyball All-American and University of the Pacific Hall of Fame inductee Jayne Gibson-McHugh ’82 died Nov. 15 at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer.

Gibson-McHugh was a member of Pacific’s volleyball program in three different capacities. She was a four-year letterwinner from 1978-81, an assistant coach from 1989-00 and head coach from 2001-05.

“Jayne was the ultimate competitor and warrior,” said Pacific Hall of Fame head coach John Dunning. “As an assistant coach for me, she played a lot in practice and the players could feel her extreme competitiveness and see first-hand how someone competed at the highest level.

“She was a tremendous role model and her former players learned a lot from her as a person and coach,” he added. “She loved Pacific and understood the athletes in a way that I couldn’t because of her playing experience and connection on the court. This is an incredibly difficult loss for Pacific—she was a Tiger through and through.”

As a student-athlete, Gibson-McHugh led the Tigers to three straight conference championships, which included a 36-0 conference record in her final three seasons. As a senior, Gibson-McHugh earned AVCA All-America First Team honors and was tabbed the NorCal Conference Most Valuable Player after serving as the team's leader in kills, hitting percentage and in all major blocking categories.

In her career, Gibson-McHugh tallied 856 kills, 155 blocks and a .303 hitting percentage. She continues to hold the program’s record for block solos in a match with nine against Stanford on Oct. 16, 1981.

In 1982, Gibson-McHugh was the recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. After graduating from Pacific with a degree in education, Gibson-McHugh went on to play for the U.S. National Team in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

She returned to Pacific in 1989 as an assistant coach under John Dunning. Danielle Hardcastle ’01, who played at Pacific from 1997-2000 while Gibson-McHugh was assistant, said she holds a special place in her heart.

“Jayne was fierce, loyal and exemplified everything that Pacific volleyball has always been about. She fought for everything and held everyone to a higher standard because she held herself to that,” said Hardcastle, who was a member of Pacific’s 1999 Final Four team. “Jayne was an inspiration to me my entire life. First it was to be a better player and better teammate, then it was to be a better wife and better mom and ultimately it was to be a better person.”

Another of her former players, Tracy Chambers ’00 who played from 1996-99 and was a part of the same Final Four team as Hardcastle, echoed her teammate’s comments.

“Jayne recruited me and got me to Pacific because I wanted to learn and be coached by one of the best middle blockers in the country. She’s truly my mentor and role model in life,” Chambers said. “She was the most competitive and fierce person I’ve ever seen, and she pushed me to levels that I didn’t even think were possible for myself—both as a player and a person. She instilled in us that no one can beat us but ourselves and we must play with utter confidence, but at the same time, have fun with it and take that into life.”

As Pacific’s head coach, Gibson-McHugh compiled a 100-59 overall record. After Pacific, she was the girls volleyball coach at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton.

Gibson-McHugh was a member of the 1980 team that was inducted into the Pacific Hall of Fame. As an individual, she was also inducted into Pacific’s Hall of Fame for her accolades in 1992 and is a member of the Stockton Hall of Fame.

“Jayne was, without a doubt, one of the most influential people in my life,” said Jen Tamas ’04, who played under Gibson-McHugh as a head coach and is currently an assistant coach at Illinois. “She was always tough in the gym, but the second her kids—Jack and Ryan—were around she melted into this warm, loving mother. I think about her all the time, and I wanted to be like her. I wanted to be an Olympian like her, and I loved seeing that she could be both a fearless head coach and have a devoted family life as well.”

Gibson-McHugh was inducted into the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 1991. She was a three-sport athlete in volleyball, basketball and track at Arvada West, a two-time volleyball Player of the Year and was a part of four state championship teams.