Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Volleyball Adds Former Saluki Lenika Vazquez To Staff
02/07/2002 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Feb. 7, 2002
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois University head volleyball coach Sonya Locke recently hired former Saluki volleyball player Lenika Vazquez as an assistant coach at SIU.
"I'm happy to have her here and it's good to know someone you are hiring and Lenika seems so perfect to come in here right now. She was a competitor as a player and came to play every day. Now we can both share that with the team. The camaraderie among the coaches was good when I was a player at SIU and when I became an assistant coach the trend continued because the athletes knew that I understood what they were going through and I see that happening with Lenika. She played with Kristie (Kemner), Tara (Cains), Lindsey (Schultz) and three others on the team," said Locke.
"One of the pluses of having someone in the program that knows the program is that we don't have to start from scratch. She hasn't been out of the game for long so she still knows what it's like to be a college athlete and still knows the conference. Lenika gained confidence and maturity from her time as a head coach at Carbondale High School for two years. It will help me with planning, practices and coaching decisions, by having someone on staff who has head coaching experience. She wants to be a college head coach and I'll do everything in my power try to help her get to that point."
Vazquez, a native of Buffalo, New York, and a 2001 SIU graduate in Business Management, played for Locke from 1996-99 as a defensive specialist. She was an integral part of Locke's 1998 team that went 19-12, 12-6 in the MVC, finishing in third place.
"I love being back in this atmosphere. I'm excited because I get to see the coaches side of things at SIU and help our players accomplish all they can at my alma mater. My goals are to do whatever I can to help our team reach its peak. I think having played here will help me as a coach because I know Sonya's philosophy and played for her so it's easy for me to share the SIU experience," added Vazquez.
"The biggest thing I love about working at SIU is that Sonya and I get along. I can honestly share ideas and some staffs don't have that ability. I love the sport, I love coaching and now I will be talking to young people about coming to SIU."
Vazquez comes to SIU after two years as the head volleyball coach at Carbondale Community High School where she was responsible for all aspects of the volleyball program. She replaces Carrie Steele, who served as a first and second assistant under Locke the last two years before resigning in January to work for the new USPV (United States Professional Volleyball) league team in St. Louis. Locke looks to add another assistant coach by March.
