Prep notebook: Warkentin steps back as CVC volleyball coach
Meghan Warkentin, the former Central Valley Christian High star who returned to guide her alma mater to four Central Section volleyball titles in five seasons, has stepped down as the Cavaliers’ head coach.
Warkentin cited the need to spend more time at home with her husband, Jeff, and their sons Jack, 4, and Grant, 11 months.
The Bee’s Coach of the Year in 2011 and Player of the Year in 2003 said she will stay on as an assistant to Sarah Oskam, a former Immanuel standout who played at Fresno State and The Master’s College.
“My first priority is my family. I’ve got two boys I want to be there for,” Warkentin said. “I’ll still get to work with the girls and stay involved though, which I’m super excited about. But it’s good for the program to have someone new who is excited and has the time to give.”
Warkentin’s teams went 153-36 while elevating from Division IV to II under the section’s competitive equity system, with a bump to D-I potentially looming in the next realignment for the roughly 260-student private school in Visalia.
The Cavaliers won Division IV titles during Warkentin’s first two seasons in 2010 and 2011, were a D-III semifinalist in 2012 and D-III champ in 2013, and won the D-II crown last season.
She prepped CVC for the climb by scheduling, and beating, teams from the powerful Tri-River Athletic Conference, going 9-4 against them, including a landmark 20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 26-24 victory over Clovis West in 2011.
It was hard for me to be done as a player, and it was cool He gave me coaching. It wasn’t easy to go from playing to coaching, but it turned into a different love, all centered around volleyball.
Meghan Warkentin
who was The Bee’s Player of the Year in 2004 and Coach of the Year in 2011 for Central Valley ChristianCVC also went 6-4 in the CIF state playoffs under Warkentin, including a D-III runner-up finish in 2013. The Cavaliers won at least one Southern California Regional match in four of Warkentin’s five seasons.
“It’s hard to put into words how good the Lord has been to me in this venture in my life,” said the former Meghan Scheenstra. “I have loved it in every sense of the word. It has brought into my life coaches who have become my closest friends and players who have become like my younger sisters.
“It was hard for me to be done as a player and it was cool He gave me coaching. It wasn’t easy to go from playing to coaching, but it turned into a different love, all centered around volleyball.”
Section volleyball teams may begin practicing Aug. 3, with the season starting Aug. 17. The Cavaliers are scheduled to open their first season under Oskam on Sept. 1 at home against Bakersfield Christian.
The last time CVC chose an Immanuel grad as its volleyball coach, it turned out well. Rhonda DeRuiter won six section D-V titles in as many seasons before leaving to take over at Clovis West.
East rolls to all-star football win
Rickie Garcia (Redwood High), Joseph DeLaCruz (Farmersville) and Steven Babagian (El Diamante) caught touchdown passes from Michael Nava (Cesar Chavez) in the second half as the East pulled away for a 27-0 victory in the 48th annual East-West All-Star football game at Visalia’s Groppetti Stadium.
The East scored all the points it would need in the first half of Saturday’s game on a pair of 27-yard field goals from Leo Nunez (Golden West).
Garcia caught a 25-yard scoring pass and DeLaCruz a 27-yarder in the third quarter, then Babagian caught a 4-yard strike in the fourth to cap the scoring for the East, which leads the series 25-16-4 with three games played in a North-South alignment.
Nava was named the MVP for the East and Karson Overmyer (Lemoore) for the West.
Nick Giannandrea: 559-441-6103, @NickG_FB
This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Warkentin steps back as CVC volleyball coach."