Lucas Yanez enters his second season as an assistant with the Benedictine men's volleyball program.
Yanez comes to Benedictine after spending a year as the top assistant at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina.
Yanez spent the 2015 season at Kansas, assisting with the overall coaching, supervision and organization of the Jayhawk volleyball team. He specifically helped with the defense, including the development of the liberos and defensive specialists. Under Yanez's supervision, the Kansas defense ranked second in the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage and third in digs per set. Nationally, Kansas finished the 2015 season ranked ninth in the NCAA Division I standings with a 30-3 overall record and an appearance in the Final Four of the 2015 NCAA Volleyball Championship.
Prior to joining the Jayhawks, Yanez competed in the USA Premier Volleyball League (PVL) in the summer of 2015. He and the Great Lake Lightning, representing the Great Lakes region, finished second.
As a coach at the Santa Monica Beach Club (SMBC) from 2012-13, Yanez mentored high school players on fundamentals and technique on the basis of good sportsmanship. He organized training and helped direct team practices. In July 2013, he coached SMBC in the Boys Junior National Championships.
Yanez returned to his own high school, John Burroughs High, to coach the junior varsity girls volleyball team. Aside from coaching various skills camps and combines, Yanez also worked as a Pac-12, Big West and MPSF official from 2011-13.
He brings to the table an impressive skillset at the Division I level. Yanez concluded the final two years of his collegiate career at Lewis University (Romeoville, Illinois). Named the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Preseason Libero of the Year prior to the 2015 season, Yanez controlled the defense of a Lewis squad that ranked top-five nationally all season. The team received the No. 1 overall national seed in the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball Tournament, advancing to the Final Four to defeat Penn State. Lewis finished the year as national runner-up, falling to Loyola University in five sets (23-21) in the NCAA National Championship.
His senior season performance amassed several accolades, highlighted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) naming him to the All-America Second Team. He also earned Volleyball Magazine All-America Second Team honors and was All-MIVA First Team. He tied the record for the most digs in an NCAA Championship match with 15 against Loyola.
As a senior at Lewis, Yanez was named All-MIVA Second Team after helping his team to a top-five ranking all year, including nine weeks at No. 2 and a week at No. 1.
Prior to his transfer to Lewis, Yanez spent two seasons at the starting libero spot at Los Angeles Pierce College (Woodland Hills, California). Setting a solid foundation for his next stop at Lewis, Yanez earned 2013 Western State Conference MVP accolades.
Yanez graduated from Lewis in 2015 with a degree in sport management. He earned Academic MIVA All-Conference recognition in 2014 and 2015 as well as the Brother David Delahanty Student-Athlete Award in each of those seasons.
