FULLERTON, Calif. – Head Coach Nicole Polster and the women’s volleyball program announced the addition of Sabrina Hernandez to the coaching staff.
“I’ve known Sabrina for a very long time, she has the enthusiasm and knowledge to help Fullerton navigate the Big West,” Polster said. “She is a great recruiter and has done every aspect of coaching. I’m very excited for her to join us and help our student-athletes grow.”
Former Long Beach State All-American and Hall of Famer Sabrina Hernandez spent the last four seasons as an assistant and interim head coach at Long Beach.
In just her second year with Long Beach State, Hernandez helped the Beach to their first postseason appearance since 2014 as LBSU hosted the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) in 2019. Long Beach State finished the season with a 12-17 overall record and a 9-7 Big West Conference mark, while boasting four All-Big West Conference selections in Hailey Harward, Kashauna Williams, and YiZhi Xue, who were named to the First Team, and Katie Kennedy who was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
In her first year on the bench for the Beach, Hernandez helped lead LBSU to a 16-13 overall record as the squad concluded the season on a three-match winning streak. Long Beach State finished Big West Conference action with an 8-8 record for a sixth place finish.
Under Hernandez’s tutelage, the Beach boasted five Big West All-Conference selections in Tyler Spriggs (First Team), Hailey Harward, Emma Kirst, YiZhi Xue (Honorable Mention), and Kashauna Williams (All-Freshman Team).
Prior to returning to her alma mater, Hernandez spent two years at UCI helping the team produce a 24-8 record which culminated in the Anteaters’ first postseason appearance since 2004 as the ‘Eaters were selected to participate in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
In her first stint at UCI, she spent nine years as an assistant coach and was a key component to the Anteaters’ highly-touted recruiting classes as she spearheaded the 2007 effort which resulted in a No. 21 ranking by PrepVolleyball.com as well as assisted in assembling the 24th-best incoming class in 2009.
The Long Beach State Hall of Famer previously served as an assistant coach at Mater Dei High School and helped the Monarchs reach the Southern California Finals as well as capture the 2014 Trinity League title.
She spent a season as the top assistant at Occidental College from 2011-12 and helped lead the program to its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament championship as well as a Sweet 16 finish, the highest for the institution.
Hernandez brings a wealth of experience at all levels as she spent the summer of 2005 as a member of the A2 High Performance USA National Team coaching staff. In that capacity, she trained and prepared junior elite volleyball athletes to become future members of the Women’s Olympic volleyball team.
Following her graduation from Long Beach State, Hernandez began her coaching career at Oregon State. There she helped the Beavers reach the NCAA postseason for the first time in 18 years in 2001.
Hernandez played at the Beach from 1989-92 and guided Long Beach State to the Final Four in three of her four years on the court. She was a member of the 1989 National Championship team and was a two-time AVCA First Team All-American. She also garnered a pair of AVCA All-Region honors. The two-time All-Big West selection was named Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American in her senior season.
She ranks third all-time at Long Beach State with 4,796 career assists and is tied for ninth with 115 career aces. Hernandez also comes in second in the single-season record book with 1,735 assists in 1990 and is fourth with 1,617 in 1991.
