By Braden Weinel//
Head volleyball coach Kevin Russell has left Hood College before the end of his first semester.
Athletic Director Susan Kolb would comment on the reason for Russell’s departure in the week Oct. 18.
Russell has coached at many different levels including club, a Division I college and a Division III college.
Sports Information Director Geoff Goyne said that Payton Belella will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Kelsey Ritner and Yonne Nasimiyu are assistant coaches.
Players on the women’s volleyball team said tensions arose between them and Russell and that nothing could be resolved.
Emma Elizondo, a junior on the team, said that the tension was affecting a lot of players’ mindsets.
Elizondo said that she is happy with the decision to move forward without Russell as head coach and is confident with the qualifications of the current coaching staff.
The women’s volleyball team is currently 3-16, holding the same number of wins as their 2019 season.
Despite the Blazers’ record, Elizondo said that this is the best team she has been a part of at Hood and she has high hopes for next year.
“I hope that someone can be brought in that can take this program in the right direction and that can build off of the team culture we built this year,” Elizondo said.
Russell was hired in the summer of 2021 as the head coach of the women’s team and was also tasked with starting up the men’s volleyball program.
With Russell no longer at Hood and no comment from Kolb, it is unclear what the future of the men’s volleyball program will look like.
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