Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Whorley, playing in her final match at City, led the Knights with 16 kills. Freshman outside hitter Brittany Karls recorded a double-double with 15 digs and 13 kills and freshman Hannah Andrews had 16 digs at the libero/defensive specialist position.

The Knights finished the 2009 season in third place in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference with an 8-4 record (12-6 overall). It was their best season since 2005 when they ended 12-7 overall and 8-4 in conference.
 

Whorley, a freshman middle blocker, totaled 22 kills in two sweeps last week. Whorley and the Knights beat Southwestern (25-10, 25-19, 25-19) and Imperial Valley (25-19, 25-14, 25-19) to improve to 11-5 overall and 7-3 in the PCAC.
 

Freshman Hannah Andrews was strong at the libero/defensive specialist position as she tallied 17 digs. Freshman setter Kristina Fernandez was accurate all match as she recorded 42 assists.

The Knights, who have won four of their last five matches, reached the 11-win mark for the first time since the 2005 season when they finished 12-7 overall.
 

The Knights got ahead early in the first game with an 8-1 lead and did not look back as they won, 25-10. With the game tied at 14-14 in the second game, the Knights turned up the heat and finished the game on an 11-5 run to win 25-19.

The Jaguars stayed close throughout the third game, but the Knights were able to hold them off with another 25-19 win.

Freshman outside hitter Kiyana Aiono recorded 12 kills for the Knights. Freshman Brittany Karls had 26 defensive digs and freshman Kristina Fernandez had a game-high 32 assists.

The Knights improved to 10-5 overall and 6-3 in the PCAC. It is the second consecutive season that City has achieved the 10-win mark.
 

Freshman middle blocker Darlene Nwagbuo had a team-high 11 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Whorley had four blocks and freshman outside hitter Kiyana Aiono recorded 19 digs.

The Knights improved to 9-4 overall and 5-2 in the PCAC.
 

The Knights pounced on the Coyotes early with a first game victory of 25-8. The second game was a struggle as the Knights fell behind 12-7, but they responded with an 18-4 run to win 25-16.

SDCC made sure that a fourth game would not be played by not allowing Cuyamaca to take a lead at any point in the third game. The Knights jumped ahead with a 15-6 lead and did not look back as they eventually won 25-14.

Freshman outside hitter Brittany Karls led the Knights with eight kills and freshman setter Kristina Fernandez recorded 27 assists. Karls, Sarah Whorley and Darlene Nwagbuo were strong defensively with three blocks a piece.
 

The Knights, who were dressed in pink jerseys in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, started slow in the first game as they fell behind 9-4, but came back to tie it at 15-15. SDCC then finished strong as they scored 10 of the last 13 points to win 25-18. Tiffany Sanks finished off the game with a service ace followed by a drop shot for the kill.

The second game was close throughout, but the Knights finished strong once again. Ahead 15-14, City closed out the game with a 10-4 run. Darlene Nwagbuo had one of her three blocks near the end of the game and then got the winning point on a spike.

The third game was exciting as it had 19 ties and eight lead changes. The largest lead of the game was held by Imperial Valley at 19-16. The Knights hung tough as they avoided three game-points by Imperial Valley. Sarah Whorley came up big on two of the three as she had the kills on two spikes. The Arabs returned the favor by avoiding three game-points of their own, but the Knights finally took control and won the game 31-29.

The Knights' Whorley finished with a team-high 11 kills. Freshman setter Kristina Fernandez had another strong outing with 34 assists and freshman Hannah Andrews recorded 17 digs at the libero position.
 

In the first game of the match, City jumped out to a 15-9 lead, but Grossmont came back to take a 23-22 lead. The Knights, however, managed to get the final three points and won 25-23. 

After winning the second game, 25-18, the Knights found themselves in a hotly contested third game. SDCC went ahead 15-9, but once again Grossmont got back into it and closed the gap to 23-22. SDCC did not let the Griffins get any closer as the Knights held them off for a 25-22 win.

Kiyana Aiono led City with 14 kills. Hannah Andrews had a team-high 30 digs and team captain Kristina Fernandez recorded 38 assists to go with four service aces. Tiffany Sanks also had four service aces.
 

The Pacific Coast Conference awarded women's volleyball player Kiyana Aiono with Women's Athlete of the Week for the week ending on Sept. 27.

In a 3-1 victory over Saddleback on Sept. 23, Aiono recorded 16 kills, 22 digs and 1.5 blocks. Two days later, she helped lead the Knights to a 3-0 sweep of Mt. San Jacinto by posting a .357 hitting percentage on 14 attempts. Aiono also had 13 digs and one service ace.
 

After splitting the first two games of the match, City fell behind 20-11 in the third game. The Knights, however, were not bothered by the large deficit as they rallied with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 20-20 and eventually finished the remarkable comeback with a 25-23 win.

The fourth game was a close one throughout, but SDCC took control with a 17-10 lead. Although Saddleback closed the gap to 22-19, the Knights were able to hang on for a 25-20 win.

Freshman Kiyana Aiono led the Knights with a double-double as she recorded 22 digs and 16 kills. Freshman Chelsey Casarez also had 16 kills for the Knights. Freshman Kristina Fernandez had a career-high 53 assists and sophomore Sarah Whorley was strong defensively as she had four blocks.  
 

The Pacific Coast Conference awarded women's volleyball player Kiyana Aiono with Honorable Mention for the week ending on Sept. 13.

Aiono had 16 digs, six kills and one block in a loss to No. 4-ranked Orange Coast on Sept. 11. The next day at Coyote Classic Tournament at Cuyamaca College, Aiono recorded 24 kills, three solo blocks and five service aces. She also averaged 4.2 digs per game. The Knights came in third place at the Coyote Classic.
 

Sophomore Sarah Whorley led the team with 11 kills on the night. Middle blocker Darlene Nwagbuo recorded a career high six blocks and Hannah Andrews had a team-high 21 digs.
 

The Pacific Coast Conference announced that Kristina Fernandez has been selected as its first Women's Athlete of the Week of the 2009-10 season.

Fernandez, a freshman setter for the Knights, recorded 29 assists in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-9, 25-19) sweep of Rio Hondo on September 2.
 

Setter Kristina Fernandez was on point throughout the evening as she recorded 29 assists. Outside hitter Brittany Karls and middle blocker Darlene Nwagbuo each had seven kills. Karls added four service aces and Nwagbuo had 2.5 blocks. Sophomore Sarah Whorley led the team with seven service aces.
 

Professional Background:
B.S. in Industrial Technology with a concentration in Plant Facilities Management
M.S. Kinesiology
Has coached for 26 years in all levels from Professional to Jr. High...coached Professional Beach team of Liz Masakayan & Elaine Youngs, Olympic Team, Collegiate, Club, High School and Junior High.

Professional Volleyball Player
"Developmental Coach of the Year,"1996 from USA Olympic Committee
"Outstanding Female Coach of the year," 1996 from USA Volleyball Professional Volleyball Player 1985-1990
"Coach of the Year," 1996 from the Pacific Coast Conference

Collegiate Classes:
Intercollegiate Volleyball  - Phye 224 & 225 Techniques of Exercise Leadership - Phye 286 Health and Lifestyle Heal 101
Volleyball- Phye 161
Beach Volleyball - Phye 161
Step Aerobics - Phye 104
Aerobics - Phye 103
Golf - Phye 126
Spinning - Phye 123
Yoga/Pillates - Phye 168
Cardio Kickboxing - Phye 133

Teaching Style:
I believe my teaching style is motivational, encouraging, educational and fun! I want to help my student-athletes become the best at their position. So, if they are willing to put in the work they will rep great benefits in their game.  Most of all, I love to teach and coach.  Teaching/coaching is my passion and when I see my players improve I get re-energized to work harder at staying the best I can be as a teacher/coach. 

My goal is to encourage students not only to excel in academics, but also to encourage them to get involved with activities on campus.  I want to make City College a home away from home, a place where people enjoy themselves and look forward to returning. San Diego City College is a great place to receive an educational experience from.

Harry West Gymnasium
Practice Home of USA Volleyball