Wesleyan University Women's Volleyball

Somera enters his second season at the helm of the volleyball program. He replaced Gale Lackey last year, who coached the Cardinals since 1985. Prior to his arrival at Wesleyan, Somera served as the womens volleyball head coach at Roger Williams University. There, he led the Hawks to three conference championships and three bids to the NCAA Division III tournament (2012-14). His squads compiled a three-year mark of 75-21 and set program records for wins (31), hitting percentage (.263), assists per game (12.0) and kills per game (13.1), while picking up the program's only NCAA ournament wins. The Hawks were the first team to complete Commonwealth Coast Conference regular-season play without dropping a set (2014), the only CCC team to top the NCAA New England Regional Rankings (2013), and the only CCC team to ever be ranked in the AVCA Top 25 (for eight weeks in 2013). Somera was named the 2014 Commonwealth Coast Conference Coach of the Year. Four Hawks received All-America honors, three athletes were selected to the NCAA Tournament All-Region team, and the program had its first Academic All-American. Before Roger Williams, he spent 15 seasons coaching at the NCAA Division I level. From 2005-11, he coached at the University of South Carolina as an associate head coach for two seasons before taking over in 2007. His 2008 team posted a 21-9 mark and led the Southeastern Conference in offensive efficiency. South Carolina had its first All-American and Academic All-Americans during his time in Columbia, and three athletes were selected to the All-South Region Team. From 1999-2006, Somera was an assistant coach and associate head coach at Oregon State University. While there, he helped the Beavers to only their second trip to the NCAA Division I Championship in 2001. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, as a volunteer assistant in 1993 before being promoted to second assistant in 1994, helping in the development of three middle blockers who earned All-America laurels. Somera will be serving his fourth year as president of the New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA) in 2016-17. Somera hails from La Crescenta, Calif., and earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Southern California. He is married to Nancy Somera (Hillman) and the couple has two children: son, Sam, and daughter, Maile.