The 2022 Cal Bears during their home match against Washington/Shelly Chryst KLC fotos
In one of the more unusual happenings in NCAA Division I Power 5 women’s volleyball, just more than two weeks before the start of practice, Cal announced Saturday that coach Sam Crosson had resigned on the same day that West Valley College announced that he is the new coach at the community college in Saratoga, California.
Cal is 0-40 the past two seasons in Pac-12 play, mired in a 55-match conference losing streak.
Sam Crosson
Cal’s news release:
“I would like to thank the University of California and Jim Knowlton for the opportunity to coach this team for the last four and a half years,” Crosson said. “Returning to Cal was a career dream of mine, and I am thankful for the time that I spent with our student-athletes and those that supported the program. After much deliberation, I have made the decision to step down and focus on spending more time with my family.”
Crosson compiled an overall record of 35-78 in four seasons as the Golden Bears’ head coach. In his first year at the helm in 2019, he guided the Bears to a 20-10 record for the program’s first 20-win campaign since 2013. He was previously on the Cal staff as an assistant coach from 2010-12, during which time the team reached the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons.
“I thank Sam Crosson for his dedication to our volleyball program and wish he and his family the best,” said Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton. “I have full confidence in Crissy (Jones Schoonderwoerd) and Savannah (Rennie) to lead our young women through this season.
“Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd will serve as the program’s interim head coach.”
Crissy Jones runs down a dig in 2019/Ed Chan, VBshots.com
Jones Schoonderwoerd, 26, is a former Washington standout who finished her college career playing beach at Cal Poly — after Crosson was the indoors coach there — and then played pro beach volleyball. She was hired a Cal exactly a year ago with no coaching experience.
The other assistant is the incomparable Savannah Rennie, about whom we have written extensively, a former Cal great who ended her indoors career at Cal in 2019 and finished at Marquette before becoming a volunteer coach last year at USC. She played for both Rich Feller, who retired, and Crosson, who took Feller’s place.
(Click here to read more about more about Rennie and her remarkable story).
Last season Cal finished 7-23, 0-20 in the Pac-12, which came after a 7-24, 0-20 finish in 2021. For that matter, Cal was 1-21 in 2020-21, the COVID season. It scored a stunning upset on February 12, a five-set win over then No. 15 Stanford, the first time Cal beat the Cardinal since 2011. It lost its next 15 matches, which means the conference losing streak is at 55.
Cal opens the season in a tournament at Army West Point where it plays Army, Fairfield and Central Connecticut State August 25-26.
This is the West Valley news release:
Former University of California, Berkely coach Sam Crosson is the new West Valley indoor and beach volleyball coach, WVC Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics John Vlahos recently announced. Crosson comes to Saratoga after four years with the PAC 12’s Bears and seven seasons at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Prior to his head coaching stints with the Bears and the Mustangs, Crosson was an assistant for the men’s program at UOP, his alma mater, and the women’s indoor programs at Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s. He was a Cal assistant from 2010-2012 before taking the head Cal Poly job.
Known for his technical savvy and recruiting, Crosson comes to West Valley with a high profile across all levels of collegiate volleyball.
“We are so excited to announce the hiring of Sam Crosson as our next volleyball coach,” Vlahos said. “Not only was he an outstanding volleyball player, but he’s also earned a reputation as a top-flight coach and an outstanding teacher.”
His first year at Cal, in 2019, was Crosson’s best in Berkeley. The Bears were 20-10 overall, 10-10 in the ultra-competitive Pac 12, and just missed an NCAA tournament berth. He amassed a 114-83 overall mark, 67-48 in the Big West, from 2012-2018 at Cal Poly.
After going 27-3 with a perfect 16-0 Big West record in 2017, Crosson was named the Big West and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Pacific North Region Coach of the Year. The Mustangs went 25-3, 15-1 in conference, in 2018, earning Crosson his second consecutive Big West Coach of the Year award.
Crosson takes over a “Viking Volley” program that, under the recently retired Armen Zakarian, has become a CCCAA powerhouse both indoors and on the sand. In the last five years, Zakarian’s indoor Vikings were 91-45 overall, 45-12 in the Coast Conference, with three straight Coast titles (2019-2022), a 2nd-place state finish (2021), a 5th-place state finish (2018) and five consecutive playoff berths. His beach Vikings were 50-28, 34-10 in the Coast, with a Coast title in 2019 and state runner-up pairs finishes in 2019 (Kaylin Henderson and Mapu Sekona) and 2022 (Katie Kishton and Flor Porras).
“To hire away a sitting head coach from a Power Five conference demonstrates what great opportunities community college jobs are,” said Vlahos. “We are excited to watch Sam build off of the excellent foundation created by Armen Zakarian and take our program to the next level.”
Crosson earned both his bachelor’s and master’s in sports sciences at Pacific. As a player, he was voted the team’s MVP in 1997, and is still regarded as one of the top players in Tiger history. He ranks 3rd all-time in service aces (86), 5th in digs (689), 7th in kills (948), 15th in blocks (218), 17th in kills-per-set (2.88) and 22nd in assists (119). His 329 sets-played ranks 14th all-time in UOP history.
Crosson is the second NCAA D1 coach hired at West Valley in the last four years. Long-time Saint Mary’s assistant Danny Yoshikawa took over the Viking men’s basketball program in 2019 and has led WVC to a pair of Coast titles and two state championship tournament berths.
A Santa Cruz native, Crosson and wife Courtney have two daughters, Makenna, one of NorCal’s top prep volleyball players, and Logan.
