Valor Christian has named Kaitlyn Hastings its new volleyball coach. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)
Valor Christian has tabbed Kaitlyn Hastings as its new volleyball coach, the school announced on Thursday.
Hastings spent the past two seasons as the head coach at Denver West, going 16-31 — but leading the Cowboys to their highest win total since at least 2007.
“I am so honored to be in this role because it combines my deepest passions of volleyball, working with youth, and sharing my faith,” Hastings said in a statement.
She becomes the school’s fourth coach in as many seasons, taking over for Melanie Heller, who led the Eagles to a 14-11 season and an appearance at the Class 4A regionals in 2015. Prior to that, Tara Hittle coached Valor to a state tournament appearance in 2014, and Lars Nielsen was the program’s original coach during its initial six seasons.
Hastings has been a volleyball coach since 2008. In addition to her experience at West, she coached at Hart County in Georgia, and has also been a coach with Colorado’s Juggernaut Volleyball Club. Hastings was also the coach of Valor Christian’s boys volleyball club team in 2014.
Said Valor Christian athletic director Jamie Heiner in announcing the hire: “We feel truly blessed with the leadership of coach Hastings and look forward to the impact she will have on the Valor volleyball community.”
Hastings’ Denver West team went 9-15 in 2014, which was the most wins for the program since the Cowboys went 8-10 in 2007. Denver West, a 4A program, was 7-16 last season.
Valor Christian returns an incredibly experienced roster next season. It will return its top five kills leaders from last season, its defense up the middle, as well as two setters.