Coach Gonzalez's Records By Opponent
Pedro Gonzalez is entering his sixth season as head coach of the Hampton University volleyball program, looking to build even further on the foundation he set for the program. Gonzalez scours the world for the best volleyball talent he can find in the hopes of elevating Hampton into the upper echelon of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
That evolution took a major step forward in 2011, as the Lady Pirates went 13-14 overall, finished third in the MEAC Northern Division with a 7-5 mark and won the first MEAC Tournament match in program history after defeating defending MEAC champion South Carolina State in four sets.
The 2011 season’s 13 wins marked the most for the program since Hampton went 19-15 in 2005, and the Lady Pirates recorded their first winning season in conference play since 2001.
The 2010 season was perhaps Gonzalez’s most trying, despite bringing in one of the most talented recruiting classes in the history of the program. Hampton battled a litany of injuries en route to a 7-25 overall record, missing the MEAC Tournament after finishing fifth in the Northern Division at 3-7.
The season did prove historic, however, as senior Aaryn Harrison became the fourth Lady Pirate in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.
The Lady Pirates went 9-19 in 2009 and went 4-6 in conference play for the second straight year. Hampton missed out on the MEAC Tournament after losing a three-way tiebreaker with Howard and Morgan State,
though the team continued to make progress.
Ivana Suput ranked second in the MEAC that season in digs with 3.91 per set, while Mianna Armstrong led the team in MEAC play with 116 kills.
Gonzalez led Hampton to a 6-28 record in 2008, and the Lady Pirates qualified for the MEAC Tournament for the first time in five years after going 4-6 in the Northern Division. The Lady Pirates fell to eventual champion Florida A&M in the quarterfinals.
In Gonzalez’s first season, 2007, the Lady Pirates went 11-19, and the team produced two All-MEAC performers in Ebonie Vincent and Alyssa Jackson — both of whom earned Second Team honors.
During his tenure, Gonzalez has recruited players from Canada, Israel, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Macedonia, Latvia and Bulgaria, giving the Lady Pirates an international flavor and a boost in talent that many teams in the MEAC can’t match.
A native of Las Milpas de Los Gonzalez, Sinaloa, Mexico, Gonzalez grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles. After a decorated high school career, Gonzalez moved on to Mount San Antonio Junior College, where he earned team MVP honors.
He finished his collegiate career and graduated from the University of La Verne (Calif.) with a degree in psychology in 2002.
Gonzalez also studied psychology at the University of Barcelona in Spain.
Gonzalez’s coaching background includes extensive summer camps in the volleyball-rich state of California, as well as Kansas. His first collegiate job came at Colby Community College in Kansas, where he was named assistant coach in 2003.
The team went 26-19 that year, and Gonzalez took over as head coach the following season. From 2004-06, Gonzalez compiled a record of 67-59 while leading six All-Conference players, three Academic AllAmericans, three All-Region performersand one First Team AllAmerican in Ana Kokanovic.
During his tenure, Gonzalez found success in the Kansas Jayhawk Conference, earning a top-three finish in 2005 and a runner-up finish in 2006. His teams were among the top-20 academic programs in NJCAA Division I, with a team cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Gonzalez was also active in the classroom at Colby, teaching Social Psychology, General Psychology, Current Political Issues and Conversational Spanish.
He also teaches courses at Hampton University.
Gonzalez still plays competitive indoor and sand volleyball, and he is also a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. He is also the MEAC’s representative on the NCAA Head Coaches Committee.
THE GONZALEZ FILE
Alma Mater: University of La Verne, ‘02
HEAD COACHING RECORDS
Year School Overall Pct. MEAC Pct.
2011 Hampton 13-14 .481 7-5 .583
2010 Hampton 7-25 .219 3-7 .300
2009 Hampton 9-19 .321 4-6 .400
2008 Hampton 6-28 .176 4-6 .400
2007 Hampton 11-19 .367 2-8 .200
2006 Colby Comm. 26-19 .577 - -
2005 Colby Comm. 29-15 .659 - -
2004 Colby Comm. 12-25 .324 - -
Career Totals 113-164 .408 20-32 .385
MEAC TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
Year Round Seed Opponent Result
2011 Quarterfinals No. 3 North South Carolina State W, 3-1
Semifinals Maryland Eastern Shore L, 0-3
2008 Quarterfinals No. 4 North Florida A&M L, 0-3
