- April 18, 2024
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Matanzas volleyball coach Dawn Moses. Courtesy photo
Matanzas did not have to look far to find its next volleyball coach.
Dawn Moses is already the head coach of the Pirates’ beach volleyball team. Now she will also be the head coach of the indoor volleyball team, replacing Julie Menendez, who resigned after five seasons.
“We had a couple of external candidates, but she was clearly the best one,” said Matanzas athletic director Jordan Butler. “Her record speaks for itself.”
“I think if coaching is in your blood, it doesn’t matter what position you’re in.”
DAWN MOSES
Moses has coached various sports over 40 years. She was the head volleyball coach at Olmstead Falls (Ohio) High School from 1999-2014, amassing 467 wins and a state championship. At Olmstead, she was a 10-time district coach of the year and an eight-time conference coach of the year.
Since moving to Florida, she has been an assistant volleyball coach at Flagler Palm Coast in 2015 and the head coach at Matanzas for one season (2016) before taking over the Father Lopez program for two seasons.
Moses’ primary job since moving here is the director of volleyball at DME Academy in Daytona Beach. She has also been an assistant coach at Matanzas for the past three seasons and has established the school’s beach volleyball program, which is preparing for its first season this spring.
“I think if coaching is in your blood, it doesn’t matter what position you’re in,” Moses said.
Her passion for coaching and developing young women are more important than all the wins and honors she has accumulated, Butler said.
“She’s a perfect fit for our culture,” said Butler. “It’s not just about volleyball. She wants to see the girls grow as people and students, not just athletes.”
The Pirates will lose leading hitter Emma Wood, who had over 200 kills this past season, but they return the team’s other co-MVP, libero/setter Sydney Moses, who is Dawn’s daughter.
“I’m big on camaraderie and pride and playing for your school,” Dawn Moses said. “That will be my general focus.”
She left Matanzas in 2017, thinking her daughter would be going to high school at Father Lopez. As Lopez's coach, Moses compiled a 43-16 record and won her 500th career game. When Sydney, now a junior, enrolled at Matanzas, Dawn returned to the Pirates to help the team out.
Menendez’s daughter, Andrea, will likely remain on Moses’ staff. Moses said she is also looking for another assistant.
“We’re going to focus on skill development,” she said. “I think (next season) will be a rebuilding year. You can’t replace a kid who had over 200 kills.”
