staff

2024-25 STAFF

Joe Ripp (Club Director)
Joe founded Vision Volleyball Club in 1997, developing it into one of the top clubs in the country. Over the past 26 years he has coached teams ranging from the 13's through 18's age groups. In addition to winning multiple NCVA regional championships, Joe’s teams have qualified for USAV Junior Nationals every season; those trips include a silver medal in the 17 Open Division (2005) and taking his 18 Blue team to a Bronze Medal in the 18 Club Division (2007). Joe also coached Los Gatos High School to four CCS championships, three Nor-Cal championships and one California State Championship during a 20-year career. Joe is a graduate of San Jose State University, where he studied Photography. When they are not coaching volleyball, Joe and his wife Katy spend time watching their two boys compete: Jake plays football at Boise State and Gavin plays basketball at the University of San Diego.

Shawn Palmer (Club Director)
Shawn Palmer enters his 4th season with Vision Shawn moved to California with his family in January of 2019. Shawn has over 15 years of experience as a club and high school head coach in Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Shawn’s club teams have consistently enjoyed success at the regional and national levels. Recent highlights include a 2018 championship at the North Coast power league (consisting of top open-level teams from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada), multiple regional championships, a 2015 NEQ championship, as well as a 7th-place finish at the GJNC. Shawn also served as a lead skills trainer for 15U-17U age groups. As a high school coach, Shawn has helped to turn around multiple programs. Most recently, he took over a 2012 program that had not qualified for the playoffs in a decade. The team finished third in the state in his second season, qualifying for the WPIAL playoffs all five seasons he was with the program, twice finishing in the final four.

Oscar Crespo (College Recruiting Coordinator)
Oscar provides a wealth of knowledge in recruiting, with over 25 years of experience coaching at the collegiate level. Prior to joining Vision, Oscar was most recently the Head Coach of the Women Volleyball Team at San Jose State University where he spent seven seasons. Prior to accepting the Spartan position, Crespo spent seven years as a member of the University of Nevada volleyball coaching staff, as an Assistant Coach and Associate Head Coach. He is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, USA Volleyball, and the Northern California Volleyball Association. Crespo is an accomplished coach with international experience. He coached the BIP/USA Selection team in 2001 in Seblini, Italy. He spent the spring of 2002 coaching a USA College All-Star team in France, Holland and Belgium, and in 2007 was on the USA/BIP staff coaching the USA selection which competed on a six city tour in Argentina vs the Argentinian National Team. Crespo's coaching experience also includes stints at the University of California, Berkeley (1995-98), Saint Mary's College (1993-94) and De Anza College. Crespo and his wife, Lisa Ice-Crespo, a three-time All-American at San José State, reside in Los Gatos with their three children: Ryan, Rachel and Karly.

18 Gold

Tyler Taylor (Head Coach)

Tyler is entering his 8th year with Vision and his 6th straight coaching 18 Gold. The last two seasons his teams have had very successful seasons, including both teams qualifying for the Open Division at Nationals. In 2018 Tyler’s Vision 18 Gold team double qualified for the Open division and medaled in 3 National Qualifiers; the Ohio Valley, the Golden State and Colorado Crossroads. Tyler has also served as an Assistant Coach at both Santa Clara and Stanford Universities. Tyler’s last season at Stanford, he helped lead the team to the NCAA Division I National Championship. Tyler has a solid coaching background including as the Men’s Assistant at Golden West, and stints at the University of Nevada and Central Arizona College. After graduating from the University of Arizona, he coached club for Zona Volleyball Club, Arizona Premier, and Huntington Beach. He graduated in history with a minor in psychology, and earned a master’s in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia in Irvine.

Nick Monroe (Assistant Coach)

Nick is currently an assistant coach for Academy of Art University in San Francisco. In his two seasons with ART U, Nick has helped three players garner All-PacWest Second Team awards. Prior to arriving at ART U, Nick was a successful high school and club coach in the Bay Area. Most recently, Nick was the head coach of the Burlingame High School girls’ volleyball program and guided the team to a 2021 Central Coast Section Division III Championship, marking his seventh consecutive time a team he coached his team to the postseason. Nick was also an assistant coach at Notre Dame High School in Belmont from 2019-21, as well as assistant varsity and JV head coach at both Miramonte High School (2018) and Monte Vista High School (2015-17). Before coaching at Vision, Nick spent 7 years at Rage and Rage Westside volleyball clubs. Nick was a middle blocker/opposite for Holy Names University in Oakland, CA from 2010-14.

18 Blue
David Stanton (Head Coach)

We are excited to welcome Dave to the Vision coaching staff. He is currently in his first season as Head Coach at San Jose City College after coaching at his alma mater, San Jose State, as a volunteer assistant with the Women’s Beach and Indoor Program (2020-2023). He also coached the San Jose State Women’s Club team in the spring of 2022. Dave also spent two seasons coaching at Hollister High School and formerly coached for Rush Volleyball Club. On the beach side, Dave coaches for Mandala Beach Volleyball Club. His playing experience began at Hollister high school where he played 4 years varsity and won 2 league titles. He continued his playing career at San Jose State for their men’s club team. Currently, he competes in CBVA beach tournaments. In addition to coaching volleyball, he is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and has worked both at CSUMB and San Jose State as an assistant strength coach.

Latahevai "Vai" Lousi (Assistant Coach)

Vision is excited to welcome Latahevai "Vai" Lousi to our staff. Vai, who played six seasons at San Jose State, has achieved remarkable milestones in her volleyball career. She was honored as a three-time All-Mountain West team selection and received the Audie Murphy Leadership Award. With 1,201 kills, she holds the 10th spot in career kills at San Jose State. She has earned a spot among the elite in the program being the 22nd player in program history to achieve 20 kills and 20 digs in a match against the University of Nevada. Hailing from the Bay Area, she represented Washington High School in Fremont and played for Encore Volleyball, during her club career.

17 Gold

Sam Crosson (Head Coach)

Sam Crosson joins Vision after coaching eight seasons at NorCal. Sam has found success in coaching all ages from 12s to 18s. Most recently Sam coached NorCal 17 black, earning an open bid to Nationals in 2023. He truly enjoys the practice environment and seeing athletes’ improvement in skill and mastery of the game develop and progress throughout the life cycle of the club year. Sam has been coaching college volleyball for over 20 years. He has earned multiple conference titles while competing in three different conferences: WCC in 2009, PAC-12 2010, and Big West in 2017 & 2018. Sam was recognized as Pacific North Region Coach of the Year in 2017 and back-to-back Big West Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018. Sam graduated from Pacific in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in sports sciences. He then earned his master’s in sports sciences from Pacific in 2005. One of the top attackers in program history during his playing career at Pacific (1994-97). Sam was voted team Most Valuable Player for the 1997 season. As a professional, Sam played one season for Herentals Volleyball Club in Belgium. A native of Santa Cruz, Sam and his wife, Courtney, have two daughters, Makenna and Logan.

Katy Ripp (Assistant Coach)
Katy Ripp is a full time instructor at Foothill College since 2004 and former Head Women’s Volleyball Coach. Her Foothill teams have won 11 league titles, and in the 2015 season, finished 4th in the state. Prior to her arrival at Foothill, Katy served as an assistant women's volleyball coach at Stanford University (2002 – 2004); at Santa Clara University (2001 -2002); and at CSU Sonoma (1999 - 2001.) Before her coaching career, she played professionally on the Bud Light Professional Beach Volleyball Tour from 1993 to 1997; played in professional indoor leagues in Italy from 1996 to 1997; as well as for the National Volleyball Association's Orange County Diggers in 1996. She played in the Associated Volleyball Professional Beach Volleyball Doubles League from 1998 to 2002 with partner Stephanie Cox. Coach Ripp played collegiate volleyball at the University of the Pacific from 1989 to 1993. Katy and her husband Joe live in Los Gatos, California and have two boys.

Oscar Crespo (Assistant Coach)
Oscar has over 30 years of coaching experience at the club, high school and collegiate levels. Prior to joining Vision, Oscar was most recently the Head Coach of the Women Volleyball Team at San Jose State University where he spent seven seasons. Prior to accepting the Spartan position, Crespo spent seven years as a member of the University of Nevada volleyball coaching staff, as an Assistant Coach and Associate Head Coach. Crespo also has international experience, having coached the BIP/USA Selection team in 2001 in Seblini, Italy. He spent the spring of 2002 coaching a USA College All-Star team in France, Holland and Belgium, and in 2007 was on the USA/BIP staff coaching the USA selection which competed on a six city tour in Argentina vs the Argentinian National Team. Crespo's coaching experience also includes stints at the University of California, Berkeley (1995-98), Saint Mary's College (1993-94) and De Anza College. Crespo and his wife, Lisa Ice-Crespo, a three-time All-American at San José State, reside in Los Gatos with their three children: Ryan, Rachel and Karly.

17 Blue

Tony Holland (Head Coach)
Tony is in his 15th season coaching club volleyball in the Bay Area. Since joining Vision, Tony has head coached or assisted our 16’s, 17’s and 18’s teams. His teams have won the Pacific Northwest Qualifier (‘16, ’21), a bronze medal at Colorado Crossroads (‘17) and qualified for JNC’s in 4 of his 6 seasons with the club. Prior to joining Vision, Tony served as both a head coach and an assistant coach for Power Teams from ages 12 through 18. He has helped lead his teams to Top 3 Finishes at Far Westerns, the Pacific Northwest Qualifier and qualify for the Junior National Championships in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021. Tony is currently in his 9th season with the Menlo School Girls Volleyball program and will begin his 3rd season as the Girls Varsity Head Coach and Program Director this Fall. Tony has helped lead Menlo to 6 WBAL Championships, 4 straight CCS Open Division appearances, a CCS Championship, 2 Nor Cal Championships and the CIF Division IV State runner-up in 2013. In 2016, Tony was the First Assistant on Menlo’s Division IV State Championship team, the first in school history. When not coaching, Tony works in finance and resides in San Mateo.

Eyriana Eatmon (Assistant Coach)

Eyriana enters her first year as a coach at Vision, she previously coached at Rage Volleyball Club for five seasons. She had played at College of San Mateo for one season and received First Team All-Conference and All-Region accolades. Eyriana graduated from Stanislaus State in 2023, with her BA in Psychology and a Minor is Kinesiology, after playing there for 4 years. While being there, she participated in the CCAA Post-Season tournament in the 2019 and 2022 seasons, where she played setter and defensive specialist. Once she finished playing, she became the Volunteer Assistant for the Warriors. Eyriana is currently pursuing her Masters at San Jose State University for the Psychosocial Aspects of Sport and Physical Activity.

16 Gold
Ron Whitmill (Head Coach)
Ron returns to the 17's team this season after winning the region and double qualifying for the open division with 17 Gold in 2018. His teams have now won the region 4 years in a row and qualified for the JNC's in each of the past 12 seasons. In 2013, his 15 Gold team won two qualifiers and finished fifth at the JNC's. In 2012, he helped lead the 16 Gold team to a 5th place finish at the JNC's in Ohio. In 2011, he coached both the 16 Gold and 15 Gold teams to JNC Bids. Previously he coached the 18 Blue team for three seasons. All three seasons his teams earned bids to the JO's, with the 2009 squad earning an Open bid, giving Vision two teams in the division. This was the first time in the 28-team format that a club has sent two teams to 18 Open. He has a lengthy coaching and playing resume. He spent seven years with City Beach as a Head Coach, and was the Head Coach for the San Jose State Men's program. He previously was the head coach at Menlo-Atherton High School (2012-2014) where he won 2 CCS D1 championships and was a Mercury News Coach of the Year. He is currently the Head Varsity Coach at Valley Christian High School (2015-present) where his teams have won 2 CCS titles as well as 2 NorCal championships and a CIF State championship.

Keilani Mayo (Assistant Coach)

Keilani is entering her second season coaching at Vision. Before coaching at Vision, she helped assist and lead the strength and conditioning program for the Menlo-Atherton High School Varsity team where they won a CCS Championship. Prior to coaching, Keilani played at Westmont College as a defensive specialist during the 2019-2020 season where they won a (GSAC) conference championship and went all the way to the NAIA National Championship finishing 2nd in the nation. She played at Valley Christian High School where the team won a CCS Championship, a NorCal Championship, and made a State appearance in 2016. She is now returning back to her high school and coaching at Valley Christian.

16 Blue

Baiba Zake McGibben (Head Coach)
Coach Baiba is entering her third year at the Vision. Native to Latvia, she has more than 20 years of coaching experience. Baiba has coached many age groups, including 11s - 14s club teams that consistently have qualified for GJNCs. With her GUNN high school team, she won the SCVL Champion Title in 2018 and the CCS Champion Title in 2019. She was also named CCS “Coach of the Year” in 2019. Prior to her coaching carrier, Baiba played collegiate volleyball for Seton Hall University in New Jersey. There, she earned the “Big-East Player of the Year” title, was selected to the “All-Big-East First Team” and named the “Seton Hall Female Athlete of the Year” in her junior and senior years. Baiba also played for Junior National Team of Latvia and spent her high school years in Moscow playing for Dinamo Moscow Volleyball Club. She and her family currently live in Los Altos.

Mike Johnson (Assistant Coach)

Vision is excited to welcome Mike Johnson to our staff. Mike is entering his third season with the Stanford Women’s Volleyball team. Johnson spent the previous four seasons as head coach at Notre Dame University. He led the Fighting Irish to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2019, 2020). Johnson has 10 years of experience as a head coach, including stints at Xavier (2010-14) and Austin Peay (2009). He amassed a career record of 187-105 as a head coach. Johnson served as the associate head coach at Notre Dame during the 2015-17 campaigns. He has also spent time as an assistant and an associate head coach at Cal Poly (2006-08) and an assistant at the University of Washington (2004). A native of Kahaluu, Hawaii, Johnson graduated from Washington in 2003 with a degree in chemical engineering. He is married to the former Liz Grajewski, an All-Big Ten gymnast at Iowa. They have three daughters, Jamie, Harper and Nell, along with a son, Noah.

15 Gold
Shawn Palmer (Head Coach)
Shawn Palmer enters his 4th season with Vision Shawn moved to California with his family in January of 2019. Shawn has over 15 years of experience as a club and high school head coach in Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Shawn’s club teams have consistently enjoyed success at the regional and national levels. Recent highlights include a 2018 championship at the North Coast power league (consisting of top open-level teams from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada), multiple regional championships, a 2015 NEQ championship, as well as a 7th-place finish at the GJNC. Shawn also served as a lead skills trainer for 15U-17U age groups. As a high school coach, Shawn has helped to turn around multiple programs. Most recently, he took over a 2012 program that had not qualified for the playoffs in a decade. The team finished third in the state in his second season, qualifying for the WPIAL playoffs all five seasons he was with the program, twice finishing in the final four.

Andrew Le (Assistant Coach)

Andrew enters his second year with Vision Volleyball Club after moving back from San Diego where he spent 11 years coaching at Coast Volleyball Club under the direction of Ozhan Bahrambeygui. Andrew was the head coach and assistant on many of the top teams (15 - 18 age groups) and helped guide many of them to medal finishes at Junior Nationals. He also spent a few years coaching the boys’ program at La Jolla High School. Prior to coaching, Andrew was a libero and graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in Human Biology. He is a local product coming out of Homestead High School and is happy to be back in his hometown of Sunnyvale. Andrew currently works in the biotech industry, and in his free time, enjoys snowboarding or playing a round of golf.

15 Blue

Isabelle Issak (Head Coach)
Izzy is in her fifth year coaching club volleyball at Vision. She is a former longtime Vision player and is currently playing college volleyball at SF State. Izzy made the CCAA All-Tournament Team in the 2021 and 2023. She received All CCAA honors in 2021 and 2023 as well. Before her time at SF State she played beach and indoor volleyball at Foothill College. Izzy played locally at Los Gatos High School where she was a three-year varsity starter and led her team to a CCS Championship.

Nick Monroe (Assistant Coach)

Alhana Velasquez (Assistant Coach)

Vision is excited to welcome Alhana Velasquez to our coaching staff! Alhana is a former San Francisco State player and a member of the 2024 NCAA Championship Runner-up team. During her time at SF State, she earned an All-Conference Honorable Mention and was named a CCAA All-Academic honoree in 2021, 2022, and 2023. She received the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award as well in 2022 and 2023. Before her time at SF State, she played club volleyball for 7 years at SG Elite Volleyball Club and for her high school, Granada Hills Charter, where she was named First Team All-West Valley League in 2018 and 2019.

14 Gold

Emerson Salonga (Head Coach)
Emerson is entering his 30th year of coaching which spans varsity boy's and girl's high school, club, USA National Teams, and women's collegiate volleyball. His teams have won multiple league and conference championships, and state tournament appearances at the high school level. His club teams won numerous NCVA and WCVBA league championships, National Qualifiers, and have won medals at the 18-Open division. He coached collegiately at the University of California, Berkeley, and Utah State University. Emerson was also the Training Coach for the USA Junior ('06) and Youth ('07) National Teams, in addition to, assisting in the USA Volleyball High-Performance pipeline program for over a decade. Emerson is a physical education teacher at Fallon Middle School and earned his BA at the University of Illinois while playing on the U of I men's club team. He is married to Shelby Salonga and has two children Katie and Josh.

Shelby Salonga (Assistant Coach)

Born and raised in Pleasanton, Shelby Salonga has been coaching club volleyball for over 20 years. She played volleyball and basketball at Amador Valley High School before attending Wichita State University on a volleyball scholarship where she competed as an outside hitter. After graduating summa cum laude from WSU, Shelby interned at the University of California, Berkeley in the athletic department before moving on to work for the Oakland Athletics for six years and has spent the last 22 years working at Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley. Shelby began her coaching career at Golden Bear Volleyball Club where she coached for 13 years making 12 appearances at USA Volleyball Junior National tournament including 7 in the Open division. Her Golden Bear teams earned a 15 Open division bronze medal, two 18 Open 5th place finishes, won the gold medal in 16 Club, and took home two 18 Club silver medals. Shelby has spent the last six seasons at NorCal Volleyball Club where her teams have qualified for the Girls Junior National Championship each year including the past two seasons in the Open division. Shelby and Emerson live in Pleasanton with their two children, Katie and Josh.

14 Blue

Julian Abreu (Head Coach)

Julian is in his second season as an assistant coach for the San Jose State indoor and beach programs. Julian enters his fourth season with Vision, and his seventh club season overall. He has coached 14U-17U teams during that time, winning four national qualifier tournaments. Previous coaching experience includes time as an assistant coach with the Archbishop Mitty girls' program, head coach for the Bay to Bay boys volleyball club, and trainer for the Optimist high school all-star match. Julian is a graduate of San Jose State University where he majored in exercise science and clinical exercise physiology.

Yazmin Pitpit (Assistant Coach)

Yazmin enters her second season coaching 14B at Vision. Originally from San Diego, she played club for Wave Volleyball Club. She played her collegiate career at San Jose State, where she was a middle hitter. While at SJSU she also played 2 years of beach, before becoming a grad assistant while finishing her bachelors degree and certificate. Currently she is an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at SJSU.

14 White

Winder Montano (Head Coach)

Vision is excited to welcome Winder Montano to our coaching staff. Originally from El Tigrito, Venezuela, Winder was a member of the Venezuelan National Team from 1992 to 1998. During that time he traveled the world playing volleyball at the highest level, competing in the South American Cup, Pan-American Games, World Cup Championships, and Olympic Qualifiers. After retiring from the Venezuelan National Team, Winder pursued a college degree, attending Columbia College in Missouri with a full tuition scholarship. In 2000, his team won the NAIA National Championship, and he received the MVP award of the tournament. “Since 2004, I have been blessed to coach and to play with good friends and highly professional individuals. I enjoy the work, the challenge, and the dedication that is required for developing young athletes. My goal is to ensure athletes have the best possible experience with the sport by instilling in them a solid technical foundation and by pursuing continual development.” Currently Winder continues to play beach volleyball and maintain an active membership with the California Beach Volleyball Association.

Assistant Coach

TBD

13 Gold

Kyra Pelayo (Head Coach)
Kyra returns to Vision Volleyball Club for her 6th season after competing for Vision as a junior player. She also competed at Saint Francis High School before attending Hawaii Pacific University. She was an outstanding Libero, earning PacWest Conference Libero-of-the-Year honors, as well as All-PacWest First-Team honors. She started her coaching career in Hawaii with HI-Intensity Volleyball Club, and with Chaminade University, where she was a Volunteer Assistant.

Joe Ripp (Assistant Coach)
Joe founded Vision Volleyball Club in 1997, developing it into one of the top clubs in the country. Over the past 26 years he has coached teams ranging from the 13's through 18's age groups. In addition to winning multiple NCVA regional championships, Joe’s teams have qualified for USAV Junior Nationals every season; those trips include a silver medal in the 17 Open Division (2005) and taking his 18 Blue team to a Bronze Medal in the 18 Club Division (2007). Joe also coached Los Gatos High School to four CCS championships, three Nor-Cal championships and one California State Championship during a 20-year career. Joe is a graduate of San Jose State University, where he studied Photography. When they are not coaching volleyball, Joe and his wife Katy spend time watching their two boys compete: Jake plays football at Boise State and Gavin plays basketball at Archbishop Mitty.

13 Blue

Lindsey Daniel (Head Coach)

We are excited to welcome Lindsey back for her 4th season coaching at Vision. She played at Rice University, taking the program to their first ever NCAA appearance her senior year. She earned a BA in Art History and English then went to NYU for a MA in Museum Studies. At Bishop Moore Catholic High School she won 2 state championships and Lindsey was named Central Florida Player of the Year her junior and senior years. She played club for OVA (now OTVA) qualifying for JNCs every year. Lindsey lives in Redwood City with her husband Rob and their three children.

Katie Souza (Assistant Coach)

Vision is excited to welcome Katie Souza to the staff! Originally from the east bay, she was a 3 year varsity setter for Castro Valley High and selected as the Female Athlete of the Year her senior year. Former Ohlone College player, and holds the single season school record in assists; 2019 . Katie coached high school at Amador Valley High School, winning 3 NCS Championships for both the girls and boys programs. Current head coach at Bay to Bay Volleyball Club, as well as assisted the 12s and 17s last season, taking home 3 gold medals! Former coach at Encore Volleyball Club and led the 13s into their first gold appearance in power league since 2020 and 5th place finish at Nationals in 2024.

13 White

William Lo (Head Coach)
William (Will) is entering into his 15th season coaching, and his second at Vision. Last season, his 14 Blue team finished 10th in region and earned a bid to Junior Nationals. Prior to joining the club, Will had 10 successful seasons at City Beach, where he was the head coach for their 14's and 15's top power teams. Having coached alongside successful coaches who have won state HS titles and have been part of the USA Volleyball coaching staff, William looks forward to passing that knowledge along to the teams he coaches. William is Gold Medal Squared and IMPACT certified. He received his MBA from Santa Clara University and currently works as the university budget director for SCU.

Assistant Coach

TBD

12 Gold

Erin Gion (Head Coach)
Erin is entering her sixth year coaching the 12s age group for Vision Volleyball Club. All of her previous teams qualified in the top division for Junior Nationals, finished in the top 3 in Northern California, and had multiple 1st place tournament finishes. Erin attended Santa Clara University where she was a member of the indoor and beach volleyball programs under head coach Jon Wallace. Erin is a Bay Area native; she attended Salinas High School where she earned MVP of Monterey County during her senior year. Erin and her husband Jackson, a basketball coach at Santa Clara University, reside in Campbell.

Maggie Curtis - Assistant Coach

Maggie Curtis is entering her 5th year of coaching and 2nd season as a coach at Vision. Maggie is a rising senior at Santa Clara University where she was a member of the Varsity Indoor Women's Volleyball Program. A standout defensive specialist, Maggie played 11 years of club volleyball representing both Triangle Volleyball Club in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Encore Volleyball Club when her family moved to the Mountain View area. Maggie graduated from Saint Francis High School in 2020 and is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Communication at Santa Clara. Maggie is an enthusiastic young coach with a clear passion for educating whole student-athletes and sharing her love of the game with all of our players. We are so excited to have her back for a second season!

12 Blue

Katie Souza (Head Coach)

Assistant Coach

TBD

11 Gold
Christa Cook - (Co-Head Coach)

With over four decades of volleyball experience, Christa Cook brings a deep passion for the sport both as a player and coach. Her volleyball journey began at Los Altos High School, where she was a three-year varsity starter and helped lead her team to the California State Championship semi-finals. During her collegiate career at SJSU, she was the Team Captain for the 1986 team that was ranked #1 team in the country. She won the Conference MVP Award when SJSU made it to the Final Four in 1984. Christa’s success extended to the USA national and professional levels. She was a member of the USA World University Games Team that competed in Europe and the USA B Team on tour throughout Egypt. Professionally she played for Major League Volleyball Indoor Pro, as well as on the WPVA Pro Beach Doubles and Bud Light Pro Beach 4-Person Volleyball Tours, earning the 1991 Tour Service Ace Award and the 1994 Grand-Prix Points Winner. As a coach, Christa has built a reputation for cultivating strong, disciplined teams at the collegiate, high school, and club levels. Her coaching philosophy centers on developing fundamental skills, fostering team unity, and promoting a "can-do" attitude. Through her years of experience, she has come to believe that the value of sports goes beyond trophies—focusing on growth, discipline, and positive experiences which cultivate a foundation for lifelong achievement. In addition to her current 12 years coaching at Vision Volleyball Club, her career includes time at Purdue University, Colorado State University, Archbishop Mitty High School, Aptos High School, Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, West Coast VBC, Griffin VBC, Monterey Bay VBC, Stingray VBC and St. Martin of Tours School.

Katie Jennings (Co-Head Coach)
Katie is a bay area native, returning for her 7th coaching season at Vision. She played seven years of club volleyball, finishing out her competitive play as a middle blocker in high school. With a bachelor's degree in Childhood Development, she has extensive experience teaching and coaching this age group. Katie focuses on developing the whole player with an emphasis on emotional intelligence. She is excited to continue to develop the younger players at Vision.

11 Blue

Lara Montgomery Farwell (Head Coach)

Lara comes from a family of collegiate hall of fame coaches including her father who coached the women’s volleyball team at SJSU. Fundamentals and work ethic have been a constant focus through her volleyball career and she attributes so many valuable life lessons to volleyball including perseverance, determination, working as a team, and staying positive in the face of adversity. Lara is excited to pass on these valuable skills through coaching to help her players grow both on and off the court. Lara played high school volleyball at Los Gatos High School where she was coached by Vision Director Joe Ripp, winning a CCS, Northern California, and State Championship and continued to play at the Division 1 collegiate level at UCSB under international hall of fame coach, Kathy Gregory. She resides in her home town of Los Gatos with her husband and three children.

Diana “Di” Truong - Assistant Coach

As a San Jose local, Diana played both club volleyball and travel basketball in high school. She continued her passion for volleyball and has been playing for over 30 years. While attending San Jose State University, she coached club and the junior varsity team at her alma mater. After graduating, she took a break from coaching to focus on her IT career and raise her three wonderful daughters. In 2023, Diana returned to coaching to share her love for the sport with her players and daughters. She is currently the head boys coach at Willow Glen Middle School.

10 Gold
Lara Montgomery Farwell (Co-Head Coach)

Jason Cardoso - Co-Head Coach

Jason has been coaching volleyball for over 10 years. He is a local product from Los Gatos and played four years on Varsity at Los Gatos High School winning four league titles and one CCS championship. Jason played club volleyball at SCVC under Bill Ferguson and participated in many Junior Olympic Tournaments. He continued his volleyball career while playing at Chico State where his team got third in the NCVF Championship. Jason has coached many club volleyball teams including City Beach, South Bay, and APEX. Jason also coached Varsity Boys at Saratoga High School for five years, where he led the team to winning two CCS Championships and two Northern California Championships. While coaching at Saratoga, he received the CCS Championship Coach Award in both 2015 and 2016. Jason now lives in Santa Cruz with his wife Katie, a former volleyball player at UCSC and former coach at Main Beach Volleyball Club, as well as his daughter Adriana and twin boys Reef and Grayson. He is looking forward to joining the coaching staff at Vision Volleyball.

Lauren McSweeney - Assistant Coach

Lauren, a native of Los Gatos, played volleyball at Los Gatos High School under the coaching of Joe Ripp and for the Vision Volleyball Club. She continued her volleyball career at UC Santa Barbara, playing as a Libero during her freshman year. Now back in her hometown, Lauren lives with her husband and two children, who are following in her footsteps as aspiring volleyball players.

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Cassidy Lichtman (Club Advisor)
We are always thankful to have Cassidy in our corner! She was a longtime Vision coach, before relocating back to southern California. Her resume in volleyball is extraordinary. She is a current member of the Board of Directors for USA Volleyball and will be playing professionally this spring in the new American pro league, Athletes Unlimited. In 2016 she served as an Assistant Coach, helping Stanford University win the NCAA National Championship. This added to her collegiate resume, which as a player included earning First Team All-American honors in 2009 and 2010. Her start into collegiate coaching followed a successful stretch competing with the USA National Team. During that time she earned multiple medals in helping her teams in international competition, including five golds. Cass also had an outstanding junior career, recognized as one of the top players in the country. She graduated from Stanford in 2011 with a degree in Political Science and a master's in History. She currently runs P/ATH, a non-profit focused on using sports to teach the next generation new skills around empathy, equity and empowerment.

Regina Legates (Trainer)

Regina played volleyball locally at Fremont HS and the Bay Club. Currently, she provides private training to both girls & boys and coaches at Vision camps. Since 2016, she has coached at City Beach, King’s Academy, Presentation HS, and Vision. As a collegiate setter at UC Riverside, she earned multiple All-Conference, All-Region, & MVP honors and was named "Female Athlete of the Year" her senior year. She led her team to four NCAA tournament appearances, finishing as high as 3rd in the nation and she was a 3-time NCAA All-American. Since 1990, she still holds the university's single season & career assists records and in 2017, she was inducted into the "UCR Hall of Fame". Regina and her husband Bryan reside in Los Altos with one son and four daughters who are current or former players at Vision.

staff

2024-25 STAFF

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