BENNINGTON, Vt. – Southern Vermont College Director of Athletics Michael McDonough announced Saturday the appointment of former Mountaineer Jessica Alvarez as the interim head coach for SVC’s men’s and women’s volleyball programs.
“I am nervous, but excited at the same time,” commented Alvarez. “I am hoping to make SVC proud and am confident that I can lead these ladies to a successful season. I look forward to this new adventure.”
Alvarez returns to SVC with a strong familiarity with both the men’s and women’s programs. Her first season as a Mountaineer was in 2011, and she was then named captain of the women’s squad for the 2012 campaign; both years, she was voted the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Player of the Year. Following her final season, she became a student assistant coach for the men’s team and carried that post over to the women’s side for the fall of 2013. Alvarez was also an assistant for the men’s squad for the 2014 season before graduating this past May with her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree.
Alvarez continued by saying, “It's really easy for someone to feel right at home with SVC because everyone is there to help and have your back, making sure that you are not alone in the process.”
Additionally, Alvarez possesses a strong knowledge of the game, proving that in her two-year career at Southern Vermont. Along with her Player of the Year accolades, she was named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference All-New England First Team in 2012 after being selected to the All-New England Women’s Volleyball Association (NEWVA) Third Team in 2011. Alvarez was also recognized on the national level, being selected as the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III National Player of the Week on October 14, 2011. In the summer of 2013, she was invited to play with USA Athletes International in a Netherlands tour that pitted her against solid European competition.
Despite only donning a Mountaineer uniform for two seasons, Alvarez is still on many categories of the SVC record book including most career kills (817), third-most career digs (576), and fifth-most career aces (120). She also owns the best two single seasons in the kills column with 413 in 2011 and 404 in 2012.
More important than pure statistics, however, is that Alvarez knows how to win. She helped the 2011 Mountaineers knock of Williams College before going on a winning streak that led to the team being ranked No. 15 in a weekly NEWVA poll, the first time ever that the program received a regional ranking. That year, SVC went on to win its first NECC Championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Alvarez and the Mountaineers followed that with a second straight conference title in 2012, and she then helped from the bench as Southern Vermont made it a three-peat in 2013.
“Jessica has established herself as a mainstay of SVC volleyball,” commented McDonough. “The opportunity to have her continue in this new role is very special. We are confident in the knowledge, leadership and familiarity she will bring to the program and our players.”
The interim coach and her women’s squad begin regular season play September 5 with the Mountaineer’s home opener against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, a night that will include the unveiling of the team’s 2013 league championship and NCAA appearance banners.