Eastern Washington University volleyball head coach Michael King has added a new member to his team's coaching staff, as Diana Villalpando has joined the program as an assistant coach.
"I'm beyond excited to join the volleyball program here at Eastern Washington," expressed Villalpando. "I'm really looking forward to working with Coach King and I cannot wait to get started."
Diana Villalpando (Dee-ah-na, Vill-al-Pan-Doe) comes to Eastern with a wealth of knowledge of the Big Sky Conference, as she was a defensive specialist for four seasons at Portland State University from 2007-2010. She most recently spent the 2016 season as an assistant coach at her alma mater, and helped the Vikings go 17-12 in her lone season with the team.
"Diana is an intelligent, hard-working person with incredible morals and ethics that will represent Eastern Washington Volleyball," King said of his newest assistant. "She's got a great presence and has a magnetic personality. She's very articulate and has an excellent working knowledge of the Big Sky from being a former student-athlete and coach in the conference. I'm excited about Diana joining our staff and know she'll be a great coach at Eastern."
Prior to her one-year stint as a coach at PSU, she spent the 2013 season as the recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division III Lewis and Clark University. In addition to her recruiting duties, she worked with the Pioneer setters and defensive specialist throughout the season. Villalpando also spent seven years as a coach at the Oregon Juniors Volleyball Academy, where she was the head coach of the U16 teams, while also serving as an assistant for the U18 squad.
As a student-athlete, Villalpando was a one of the winningest NCAA Division I players in Portland State history, as the Vikings won 83 matches in her four-year career. She was also a part of five Big Sky Championships (3 regular season titles, 2 Big Sky Tournament titles) and played in two NCAA Tournaments. Her best season came as a senior in 2010, as the libero ranked eighth in the Big Sky in digs per set (3.75) and led the team in digs in 17 matches. She recorded a team-high 12 digs against No. 7 Hawai'i in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Villalpando is a native of Troutdale, Oregon and graduated from Portland State in 2012 with a Bachelor's Degree in sociology. She is married to Daniel Leong and the couple have a daughter, Karsyn.
