By Stephanie Wertz and Mika Mendoza
Oak Staff Writers
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| New Head Coach, Atlee Hubbard. Photo Credit: Menlo Athletics |
As two winning seasons have come to an end for the Menlo College Lady Oaks Volleyball team, eyes have turned to a new year, and a new coach.
At the end of 2012, the Lady Oaks took back the title as Cal Pac Champions and Conference Tournament Champions. The team entered the first Round of Nationals against the College of Idaho, but left the tournament with a loss to the Lady Coyotes.
The volleyball team’s season also ended with the departure of Coach Daniel Rasay. After two years at Menlo and three years as a volunteer coach at Stanford University with the Men’s Volleyball team, Rasay accepted a position with Stanford as a full-time, assistant coach.
Suddenly, Menlo Athletic Director, Keith Spataro, was on the hunt for a new women’s volleyball coach.
After many applications and phone interviews, the panel was narrowed down to six candidates. All six coaches were interviewed by the athletic department and the volleyball team. Out of those six, Atlee Hubbard, a Menlo Park native, won the job and became the new head coach for the Menlo College Women’s Volleyball team.
“Atlee was very clear about her vision for Menlo College Volleyball. She came prepared and ready to accept the challenge. Her experience as a player and coach will provide great leadership to our team now and in the future,” said Spataro.
Hubbard said she had no doubt that she and the Menlo coaching job were meant for each other.
“When I learned about the opening at Menlo College, I felt compelled to apply for the position. Being from Menlo Park, I wanted the opportunity to fulfill my goal and live locally. The volleyball program at Menlo College has a great history of success and I want to continue that,” said Hubbard.
Hubbard attended Menlo-Atherton High School and played volleyball all four years as well as club volleyball for Vision and City Beach Volleyball Clubs. She attended the University of Rhode Island her freshman year and played outside hitter for the Rams, earning a spot on the A-10 Conference All Freshman Team.
After her first season, she realized that URI was not the right school and transferred to Sacramento State to play volleyball for the Hornets her remaining three years of college.
She started as an outside hitter and was named to the Big Sky First Team All-Conference her junior and senior years, while helping the team win the conference championship all three years.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Photography, she played professionally in Indonesia and Spain from 2008-2010.
“Traveling around the world playing volleyball is one of the biggest highlights of my life and I learned a lot about myself as a player and a person. But I eventually knew I wanted to come back to the Bay Area and get my coaching career off to a strong start,” said Hubbard.
As the head coach for the Menlo Oaks Volleyball team, Hubbard’s goals for the upcoming season are to dominate the Cal Pac Conference and make it farther into the NAIA Championships. The Lady Oaks currently have six strong returning players and Hubbard wants to also bring in players who can add to the team's strengths and eliminate weaknesses.
“I like to recruit athletic, aggressive players who have a strong and confident court presence. I feel like these types of players can also make a big contribution to the student body at Menlo College and will be engaged in campus activities,” Hubbard said.
Hubbard and the Menlo squad are already on their way to prepare for next year’s season.
“My expectations never change. We want her to be successful both on and off the court. Our student-athletes and coaches alike know that winning is directly related to preparation and Atlee will challenge them to be prepared at the highest level. In which case I expect us to continue the long standing tradition of winning,” said Athletic Director, Spataro.
