By Grant Clark
Volleyball is coming to South Puget Sound Community College.
It’s been nearly a quarter century since the Clippers added a new intercollegiate sport, but women’s volleyball will make its debut on the Olympia campus in the fall of 2016.
Volleyball will be the college’s fourth athletic program, joining men’s basketball, men’s soccer and women’s basketball. The addition comes on the heels of South Puget Sound, a member of the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), discontinuing its intercollegiate softball program earlier in August.
“When I was hired, I was given the task of helping to lead a rejuvenation of the (athletic) department,” said Nick Schmidt, who was hired as SPSCC’s new Director of Athletics in July. “Not just to field teams but to field quality teams in both character and in talent.”
The Clippers will join the NWAC West Region, filling the void left by departing Clark College, which is moving to the South Region next year.
In addition to SPSCC, the new West Region will feature Tacoma, Highline, Green River, Pierce, Lower Columbia, Grays Harbor and Centralia Community Colleges.
“We want to move quickly (on the hiring of a volleyball coach), but we don’t want to make knee-jerk decisions,” Schmidt said. “Right now we are evaluating our equipment needs and will first move forward with those purchases, and then take the next steps.”
According to Schmidt, the ultimate goal would be to hire a coach in late fall 2015.
“(We want) to make the right hire,” Schmidt said. “I want to make sure we bring on someone who will not only be a great leader and role model to our players, but someone who can also lay the foundation for a successful program.”
In terms of potential recruits, Thurston County has been a hotbed of high school volleyball talent for quite some time now with all seven of the larger local schools featuring exceptional programs – a fact not lost on Schmidt.
Tumwater High School captured the 2015 Class 2A state title, while Capital was the runner-up this past season in the 3A ranks. Olympia won the 4A crown in 2012 and is constantly ranked among the top teams in the state. North Thurston finished second in the state 3A tournament in 2013, while Timberline placed in state twice over the last four seasons – a first for the 45-year-old program.
“No one can dispute the quality of talent in Thurston County,” Schmidt said. “With that success came numerous players moving on to college outside of our local area. Now we will be able to provide an avenue for those players to stay home.”
Tacoma Community College won the West Region last year with a 13-1 record. The top four teams from each of the four regions advance to the NWAC tournament. Blue Mountain Community College, located in Pendleton, Ore., has won three consecutive and four out of the last five NWAC volleyball championships.
“Everyone involved with this sees the value athletics play on the campus and in the community,” Schmidt said.
The elimination of the softball program comes just four months after SPSCC was forced to cancel the remainder of its 2015 season due to lack of players.
The Clippers forfeited four games in a one-week span alone last season when they were unable to suit up the minimum nine players. The team finished 0-14 last year and 0-32 in 2014. It was the second time in four years the program was forced to cancel its season as the Clippers ended their 2012 campaign after just two games.
The shutdown comes just four years removed from a 22-win season in 2011. In 2006, the SPSCC softball team went 40-7 and hit a college softball record 127 home runs that year, bettering the record 126 homers the University of Arizona smacked in 2001.
With volleyball on the horizon, Schmidt did not rule out the addition of other sports, however don’t expect announcements any time soon.
“Long term, yes,” answered Schmidt when asked if South Puget Sound was interested in starting up other intercollegiate sports, “but we’re not talking about any time in the near future. When the time comes to add more (sports) we want to be able to use our volleyball program as a successful blueprint on how to do that. Our main focus now is on our current programs.”
