Patrick Mooney Named SMCC Men's Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Head Coach

PHOENIX ---

Longtime South Mountain Community College volleyball coach Patrick Mooney has been named head coach for the SMCC men's volleyball and beach volleyball programs, SMCC Athletic Director Todd Eastin announced. The former head coach of the SMCC women's indoor program for 13 years, Mooney also serves as an assistant coach for that program and works as the athletic department's academic advisor.

In his 13 years as the women's volleyball head coach at SMCC, he took the team to the playoffs seven times (2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018) and in 2007, it was the team's first playoff appearance in 10 years. The last team under his head coach assignment was the most successful. They finished second in the league, hosted the ACCAC Region 1 tournament as the highest finishing NJCAA Division II team in the ACCAC, held an NJCAA ranking as high as fourth, won the region tourney and finished fifth at the National Tournament. He stepped aside before the 2019 season and immediately became an assistant coach for Melissa Hess as the team finished 14-17 overall and 5-10 in ACCAC play.

The SMCC beach volleyball team played its inaugural campaign in the 2021 spring, squaring off with Mesa CC and Trinidad State JC. The team finished 1-4 overall and posted a 4-0 defeat of Trinidad State JC on April 30.

"I am honored to be the head coach of this program, and I look forward to getting athletes here at South Mountain CC who have the intention of playing only beach volleyball & being the best they can be," said Mooney. "We have quite a few high school beach programs in the state and many clubs that do well at the national level, with more and more athletes deciding to focus solely on beach volleyball. The success of our women at the Olympic level will increase the interest level of athletes looking to play in college. We will get to provide that opportunity to compete not only in Arizona but throughout the nation as well."

SMCC added men's volleyball to its sports offerings through a $10,000 grant provided by the NJCAA Foundation and First Point Volleyball Foundation starting with the spring 2022 season.

"I am quite excited to be the first head men's coach at the community college level in Arizona and honored that SMCC chose me," Mooney added. "At this level, men's volleyball has been a long time coming. When I started the first varsity boy's program at Corona Del Sol High School in 1994, the student-athletes had limited places to continue to play. Now, we are going to give outstanding young men from Arizona a great opportunity to stay close to home and compete in intercollegiate athletics."

"South Mountain CC is thrilled to name Pat Mooney as the first-ever head coach for the Men's Volleyball program, as well as the Head Coach for our Beach Volleyball program," said SMCC Athletic Director and baseball head coach Todd Eastin. "Coach Mooney has been an integral part of the academic and athletic successes of current and past student-athletes. In this new role, we look toward Coach Mooney's years of experience in guiding student-athletes as we begin to grow our Beach and Men's Volleyball programs."

Mooney also spent 10 years as the women's volleyball head coach at Phoenix College. With the Bears, his teams were named NJCAA Academic Team of the Year every year from 2000 to 2004. His team was Phoenix College Team of the Year for 2000-2001, and in 1999 they finished fourth at the National Tournament. In 2004 his team placed second in the conference and held an NJCAA National ranking of third in the country.

From 1991 to 1996, he was a Physical Education teacher in the Kyrene School District and the Boys' and Girls' Head and Assistant Volleyball Coach at Corona del Sol High School. At Corona, he led both programs to the state semi-finals from 1994 to 1996, was the first coach of the boy's program in 1994, and was AIA Central Region Coach of the Year in 1995.

In 2004, Coach Mooney graduated summa cum laude from Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, with a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and carried a 4.0 GPA throughout his master's courses. In 1990 he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, emphasizing Physical Education, from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. While at BGSU, he competed on the men's club team, achieving all-conference honors in 1989 and 1990, and was elected as the team captain in 1990.