Club Shoreline Volleyball Club

Sissy Nilssen, Club Director and 18’s Head Coach

Sissy was first introduced to volleyball in Jr. High where Beth Kinns taught her how to over hand serve. She was hooked on the sport every since and armed with a tough float serve.

Sissy continued playing volleyball at Mondovi High School, Mondovi, WI where she was awarded Honorable Mention her junior year, 1985 and All Conference her senior year, 1986. She led in her division with most ace serves. She also played two years at Chippewa Valley College, WI.

Sissy moved to Santa Cruz in 1988 and played recreational indoor and beach volleyball. In 1996 she entered her first California Beach Volleyball Association tournament. Sissy’s persistence and hard work earned her an AAA beach rating eight consecutive seasons and winning four AAA tournament events. She continues to play and learn the beach game.

Sissy’s coaching experience includes two seasons at both Aptos Jr. High and at the Aptos Junior Varsity level. While at Aptos Jr. High she lead her 8th grade team to an undefeated season in 2004 and her J.V. team to undefeated season in 2005.

Sissy founded Club Shoreline Volleyball in 2005 to bring an alternative club experience in the Santa Cruz Area. Club Shoreline Volleyball offers players an opportunity to play club volleyball while participating in their high school sport and/or focusing on academics. Sissy has coached five seasons with the club including a team finish of 14th out of 82 teams in 2008, and a finish of 2nd out of 89 teams in 2009, in the 18’s NCVA Area League Division.

Sissy has a true passion for both coaching and playing volleyball. “I believe this game has an opportunity to teach many life lessons; confidence, how to be a team player, discipline…and much more" When she is away from the game, she enjoys her family, her home and getting the most out of life.

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” —Malcolm Gladwell, 1963

Jen Meyers , 18’s Assistant Coach

Jen Meyers was born in Kirkland, Washington and raised in various parts of Northern California. Her mother was a collegiate runner and basketball player and her father played collegiate volleyball and basketball. Consequently, she was introduced to and engaged in a variety of sports from a young age. Throughout high school, Jen played volleyball in the fall and spring and basketball during the winter. Her senior year was dedicated to maintaining a strong grade point average, while fine-tuning her specialties of hitting and blocking.

Jen began her collegiate career with volleyball at University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) in 2006. Recruited as a middle hitter, she trained in that position for two years before making the switch to opposite/right side hitter. In the summers she integrated coaching into her skill set, leading and counseling young women between the ages of 12-18 at Nike Volleyball Camp.

As a student athlete, Jen’s priority always lies with school, although playing sports is a close second. She is double majoring in Psychology and Philosophy, and is looking forward to graduating in June of 2010. In 2009, she participated in an Education Abroad Program though UCSC and lived in Salvador, Brazil for one semester.

Jen is highly anticipating furthering her career with beach volleyball, which she has fallen in love with since having the good fortune of living in Santa Cruz, and has been playing competitively for four years. She feels very lucky to be surrounded by such great mentors and players, especially those on the Club Shoreline staff.

Dana Johnson, 16’s Co-Coach

Dana grew up in Marin County where she first discovered her love for volleyball. At the of age 12, she found her start at the Marin Juniors Volleyball Club and continued to play for them for the next seven seasons. While in high school, Dana excelled as an outside hitter at Terra Linda. In college, Dana played four years of NCAA volleyball as a libero for the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC). She has been playing beach for two years now, and recently earned her AA rating with her partner Sophie Manoukian.

Dana has coached two years of club, and three years of Nike Volleyball Camp. Her experience as a coach has been indescribably rewarding and she plans on coaching for many more years to come. Dana looks forward to this upcoming season and hopes that her players will not only improve their skills and knowledge of the game, but also learn the essential lessons that being a part of a team provides.

Dana is finishing up her undergraduate degree at UCSC. She will graduate in the spring of 2010 with a major in sociology and a minor in education. Dana’s future plans include attending graduate school and getting a teaching credential.

Sophie Manoukian, 16’s Co-Coach

Sophie started her indoor volleyball career at Santa Clara High School as an outside hitter and continued to play at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) for four years, primarily as a Defensive Specialist. Sophie is also a AA ranked beach volleyball player and earned her current rating with partner Dana Johnson. While at UCSC, Sophie earned degrees in both psychology and legal studies. Her next endeavor is law school.

This will be Sophie’s third year coaching club volleyball. She has also coached at the UCSC Nike Volleyball camps for two years. Sophie is excited to dedicate her time and enthusiasm to coaching club volleyball. She strongly supports the philosophy of Club Shoreline to improve individual’s game skills while promoting health and fitness at the same time.

Sophie was originally born in the Republic of Georgia, moved to Moscow, Russia for three years, then came to the United States when she was 11 years old. Besides volleyball, Sophie enjoys running on West Cliff, drawing, reading and traveling. Last summer she spent two months traveling in Europe (England, France, Spain, Italy and Greece) and plans on continuing to travel and to explore new places.

Jen Bryan, 14’s Head Coach

Jen earned her B.S. in Exercise Physiology at the University of California at Davis in 1996. She played college volleyball at Davis for four years and coached for the Davis Volleyball Club for two years. She received her teaching credentials in Biology and Physical Education from San Diego State University in 2000.

Jen has been teaching and coaching at Aptos High School for nine years. She is currently in her seventh year as the varsity coach, winning four league titles from 2003-2006. Her team is currently undefeated in the SCCAL league.

Jen coached last year for Shoreline’s 14’s and has coached two previous seasons for the 16’s team.

Jen’s hobbies include traveling, camping, hiking, playing guitar, snowboarding, tennis, and, of course, playing volleyball. She now plays at the beach and currently has a AAA rating in the sand.

Kristin Onorato, 14’s Assistant Coach

Kristin graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2005 with a BA in Business Management Economics. While attending UCSC, she played four years of volleyball for the Slugs in which she lead the team as captain during her junior and senior year. Kristin holds the current record at UCSC for most service aces in one game (7)!

Today she has begun her career at the University. Kristin’s coaching experience includes two years as 16’s Assistant Coach with Bear Volleyball Club under club director Jonah Carson, current head coach of the Men’s UCSC Volleyball team. She also coached two seasons with the Boy’s Junior Varsity team at Harbor High. Currently she assists the 14-1 at Bay to Bay Volleyball Club. We are excited to have Kristin join our coaching staff.

Lily Denevan, 12’s Assistant Coach

Lily Denevan was born and raised in Santa Cruz. She first began playing volleyball in the 7th grade and quickly fell in love with the game. Lily attended Soquel High School, where she played as an outside hitter (OH) for four years. She began playing club volleyball at age 14, first for Santa Cruz Volleyball Club, then for Main Beach Volleyball Club. Lily’s last three years of club were spent on Club Shoreline’s 18’s team as an OH and she loved every minute of it.

Lily began coaching in 2008 as the assistant coach for New Brighton Middle School's boys' volleyball team. In addition, she was a coach at Main Beach Volleyball Camp and Mid-County Volleyball Camp in both 2008 and 2009. She is excited to be coaching for Club Shoreline and is looking forward to helping her team develop and a super-fun season!

Lily is currently a freshman at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she intends to study Psychology. She hopes to attend law school after she finishes her undergraduate work. In her spare time, Lily enjoys playing beach and intramural volleyball, reading, writing, drawing, cooking, and going on long bike rides. 

Sarah Lastition, Head Coach for the 13’s Clinic

Sarah began her volleyball career playing high school and club when she was 15 and fell in love with the sport. In addition to volleyball in high school, Sarah played basketball, softball, and tennis, earning several MVP and All-League awards through out her high school career. Sarah went on to play volleyball for two years at Cabrillo College, where she was named MVP and All-Conference her second year in 1991.

After a knee injury and two surgeries in 1991, Sarah moved her volleyball game to the beach. She played competitive doubles from 1991-2001, earning a AAA every year. She still plays once in a while when she gets time away from her son who is almost two years old.

Sarah started her coaching career at Cabrillo College where she was an assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team in 1991. Then she head coached the JV girls’ volleyball team at Soquel High School, the 16’s team for Santa Cruz Volleyball club and the 14’s team for Main Beach Volleyball club.

Sarah loves teaching and coaching both the physical and mental aspects of volleyball. She believes that participating in team sports as a young individual can mold a more confident, loyal, hardworking and motivated adult. She is very excited to teach the 12’s clinic and takes joy in helping young athletes discover their potential.

Sarah earned a BA degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz in economics. Most recently, Sarah worked for Plantronics, Inc. for ten years as a Senior Sales Representative. She left her corporate career in 2008 to focus on being a full time mom to Cooper. Sarah’s husband and son are the light of her life. She also enjoys working out, playing sports, reading good novels, watching movies and being with friends and family.

Ashley Benyola, Assistant Coach for the 13’s Clinic

Ashley Benyola grew up in Spokane, Washington and began playing volleyball as a little girl. She excelled as a libero for Gonzaga Preparatory School, a private Catholic high school, and played on the varsity team for three years. Ashley received several awards including the “Most Improved Player” as a freshman and the “Most Valuable Player” as a junior. During high school, Ashley also volunteered her time to help run local volleyball clinics in the summer.

Ashley attended Washington State University (WSU) for two years where she continued to pursue her love for volleyball, playing in several indoor and outdoor intercollegiate leagues. At WSU, her passion for sports, nutrition and health led her to declare Sports Nutrition as a major. She recently moved to Santa Cruz and plans on transferring to the University of California at Santa Cruz in the fall to complete her Bachelor of Science, and eventually a Masters, in Sports Nutrition.

In addition to school, Ashley works for Club One at Scotts Valley and is finishing the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) program to become a certified personal trainer. In her spare time, you can find Ashley outdoors, staying active and painting.

Susan Hughes, President, Board of Advisors

Born and raised in Carmel, CA, Susan began playing sports at an early age to keep up with her four older brothers. She discovered her love of volleyball in high school where she was voted most athletic and all conference. Currently, Susan ranks #13 on the California Beach Volleyball Association and has held her AAA beach rating for ten consecutive years.

Susan graduated from Chico State in 1984 with a B.A. in Health Science. While in college, Susan’s love of sports took her to Montana for a year on the National Student Exchange Program where she skied and white water rafted. Upon returning, Susan immersed herself in competitive grass and beach volleyball and continued to serve as a white-water rafting guide over the summer months in CA.

Susan is currently a Regional Sales Director for the Swiss company Maquet Inc., one of the largest medical equipment companies in the world. Susan has been in sales and sales management for over 25 years and was most recently awarded Regional Sales Manager of the Year for 2008.

Susan attributes sports, specifically volleyball, as the basis for her success as a woman in the business world. It has taught her discipline, hard work, dedication, teamwork, communication skills and to strive for her goals. Both her focus and competitive nature is largely a result of her early love of team sports and competition.

Susan is inspired by Shoreline’s program that teaches young women how to be confident, strong, competitive and successful not just on the court but in life.

Susan’s hobbies include hiking and traveling to Mexico with her amazing partner of 24 years.

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best” —Epictetus.

Kjell Nilssen, Shoreline Beach Club, Head Coach (Beginning/Intermediate) & Co-Coach (Intermediate/Advance)

Bio coming soon

Todd Hollenbeck, Shoreline Beach Club Co-Coach (Intermediate/Advance)

Todd Hollenbeck grew up Rancho Palos Verdes, California. He moved to Santa Cruz in 2008 to pursue coaching as a career. He is currently both the Men and Women’s Assistant Volleyball Coach at U.C. Santa Cruz. Todd is also the Head Coach for the Bay-to-Bay Volleyball Club’s 17-2’s team.

Todd graduated from the University of the Pacific (UOP) in 2007 with a degree in Marketing. During his time at UOP, Todd played Division 1 volleyball for the Tigers as a middle blocker. In his senior year he received the “Most Inspirational Player” award. After college Todd traveled abroad to play professionally in Northern Germany.

Todd has been playing beach volleyball since the young age of 15. He is currently the #1 “AA” rated player in the CBVA. When he is not coaching indoors, Todd is training and coaching on the beach. Todd has run his own private beach clinics for the past year. He is currently training to qualify for the AVP tour.

Lily Devenan, Shoreline Beach Club, Assistant Coach (Beginning/Intermediate)

See full bio above.

Tate Walthall, Shoreline Beach Club Guest Instructor

Bio coming soon

Ilga Celmins, Shoreline Beach Club Guest Instructor

Ilga grew up in Maryland. She played volleyball in high school because there was no girls' soccer team and tennis was a spring sport. She was given the award for “Best All Around Player” which was an omen of things to come.

After getting her B.S. in Chemical Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University, and making the trek to Virginia Beach as often as possible to play in the beach volleyball tournaments, Ilga moved to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB and study for her master's degree in Chemical Engineering.

She soon hooked up with the local beach volleyball crowd and started playing more seriously. She rose to the 8th seed in the WPVA (the precursor to the AVP). More recently she played against Kerri Walsh and Misty May in the Hermosa Open in 2005 (and lost).

Ilga has held her "AAA" beach rating for over 20 years. Being a good "all around player" was/is very important in being able to achieve this.