Aptos High girls volleyball coach Lake Merchen went out on top. He posted a 47-25 record in two seasons at the helm and led the Mariners to California Interscholastic Federation Division-IV NorCal and state titles in the fall.
Merchen resigned last month for personal reasons. He couldn’t be reached for comment.
“I have made the decision to move to San Jose and accept an assistant coaching position for West Valley’s indoor team,” Merchen wrote in an email to Mariners athletic director Travis Fox. “It definitely kills me to say this, but this means that I will not be able to coach at Aptos for Fall 2020. Under any other circumstances I would have been stoked to get back into the gym with the girls and get ourselves another state championship.”
He also serves as a coach for Mountain View Club Sand Volleyball, a position he has held five years, and has worked the past three years as the club’s sand director.
Aptos hasn’t yet named a replacement and is still fielding applications.
After taking second place in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs this season, the Mariners (22-15) were placed in D-IV for the state playoffs and pulled off a series of upsets. No. 7 Aptos toppled No. 10 Union Mine in the first round and followed with three straight stunners on the road, beating No. 2 Marina Academy, No. 3 Escalon and No. 5 Tamalpais, to claim the NorCal title. The Mariners beat No. 1 Nordhoff, the SoCal champion, 25-12, 25-17, 26-28, 25-21 for the state title.
“Lake was a great coach,” Fox said. “From the Xs and Os standpoint, he definitely understood the game of volleyball. What impressed me most, especially for being such a young coach, he is only 24, he had great game management and great relationships with the players, especially during the playoff run.”
The Mariners graduated six seniors from its history-making team: Natalia Ackerman, Gabby Giuffre, Brynn Mitchell, Alana Patyk-Randa, Rylee Mennie and Sophia Wilford.
“We graduate a strong senior class, a pretty storied senior class with Brynn Mitchell, Gabby Giuffre and Natalia Ackerman, but we’re pretty high about the returners,” Fox said.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-committed outside hitter Peyton Dueck, an all-Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League first-team pick the past three seasons, and second-team middle blocker Jordyn Waite-Ward, an incoming sophomore, will return. Also expected to return are incoming seniors Ava Riccabona, Angelina Ontiveros and Leilani Valdez, juniors Emma Yeaman and Izzy Pfeiffer, and sophomore Mikayla Santaela.
“I loved having him as coach,” Dueck said. “He hyped me up every game. I really hope we’re having a season. We’ll miss all the seniors, but we have a great team this year. I’m confident we’ll get back out there and work hard in practice.”
As a player, Merchen shined for NCAA Division III UC Santa Cruz from 2015-18. He was named a first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America in ’16 and ’17 and finished as the Banana Slugs’ all-time leader in kills (1,133), digs (703) and aces (108).
Merchen helped Buchanan High in Clovis qualify for the SoCal Division I Regional playoffs three times. As a senior in 2014, he was named the Fresno Bee’s Player of the Year. That year he helped the Bears (36-5) reach the regional semifinals and finish ranked No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps.com.