Three-time Olympic medalist and professional beach volleyball player April Ross has been hired to coach El Camino College’s beach volleyball program.
Ross will succeed LeValley Pattison who stepped down from coaching the beach team after eight seasons at the helm.
“I’m excited to continue to grow this program,” Ross said. “Not just compete, but guide the athletes here in their lives and help them succeed.”
She will become the second coach in the program’s eight-year history.
The former USC Trojan who won back-to-back NCAA indoor volleyball titles in 2002 and 2003 represented the United States at the Summer Olympic Games in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
At the 2020 Tokyo Games, Ross paired with Alix Klineman to defeat Mariafe Artacho Del Solar and Taliqua Clancy of Australia in two sets to secure a gold medal.
Prior to those games, Ross and Jennifer Kessy wrapped up the London Games in 2012 with a silver medal after falling to Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings in the gold medal match.
Four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games, Ross was paired with Walsh-Jennings to take home a bronze medal after defeating Brazil’s Talita Antunes and Larisa Franca Maestrini.
Ross will retire in November after playing her final season for the AVP League.
ECC athletic director Jeff Miera expressed excitement with hiring Ross.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity for our student-athletes,” Miera said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for them to play and be coached by a three-time Olympic medalist.”
