The past 13 seasons, Coach Kim Lester has been leading the Women’s Indoor Volleyball Team. Now she is splitting her efforts with the expansion of Mesa’s Sand Volleyball Team. For two years, Sand Volleyball has strictly been a club sport here at Mesa, but this season they will be an official sports team in a division containing 15 other teams. The Olympians, more specifically, will be competing in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC). Along with Mesa; Grossmont, Mira Costa, and Palomar will be placed in the PCAC.
Mesa’s Sand Volleyball club team achieved official sport status this season with no small effort. This is a cause Lester had been fighting for and is extremely proud to be leading the program in its first year. “Our team is very excited about this year. We want to take full advantage of this being the first year, we want to go out there and be as competitive as we can,” said Lester. With most of the talent coming directly from their indoor team that posted a plus .500 record last season, a strong effort is expected from the Sand team this season.
Sand Volleyball is a sport that is expanding quickly; many High Schools are beginning to add the emerging sport to their programs, as well as 39 Division 1 Colleges according to Scholarship Stats. This quick expansion is nothing but positive news. Coach Lester was keen to point out that it allows a lot more scholarship opportunities for the female athletes.
Lester is hoping that this quick expansion will lead to a more accurate reflection of the competitive nature of the program, by adding a home court. Currently, Mesa splits its practices between Grossmont College and Mission Beach. “We are hoping by spring 2016, that we have courts here…having a home court would definitely help us,” said Lester. “If we have a facility that we can sell to recruits then it makes them want to come here.” It is expected that the progression of this competitive program will reflect well on Mesa Community College.
Their season began in early March and extends into mid-April. If the season goes as expected, They will continue to compete in the regionals then move forward to the State Championships which will be held at Irvine Valley College in early May.
