Santa Barbara High has named Ariana Garner as the girls varsity volleyball coach, Athletic Director Joe Chenoweth announced Monday.
Garner was the JV girls coach last season.
“I am excited and honored for this new opportunity and to lead such a storied program,” she said in a statement.
“Ariana was a successful collegiate player, competing at Long Beach State in beach volleyball,” Chenoweth said in a statement. “She has made it clear that coaching volleyball is her passion. This is evident when watching her interactions with the players while she commands the court.
“Dons volleyball is in good hands under Ariana’s leadership.”
Garner has been part of the local volleyball community. She played two years of indoor and beach volleyball at SBCC and coached at the club level.
As an indoor player, she was the starting setter for the Vaqueros, leading them to a pair of Western State Conference titles while earning all-conference honors both seasons. On the beach, she, led the SBCC club team to a 7-3 record.
She signed a letter of intent play beach volleyball at Long Beach State. She is the only player in program history to have 30 digs in a match, and she did it twice.
Garner graduated from Long Beach State in May of 2017 with a degree in sociology.
She returned to Santa Barbara and has been coaching club volleyball, most recently as the head coach of the 15-1 boys team for Santa Barbara Coast Volleyball Club. She also coached 13-under girls with the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club.
Garner attended Rio Americano High in Sacramento, where she was a multi-sport student athlete. She earned four letters in volleyball and soccer, was named first-team all-league three times in volleyball and was a member of three CIF-champion soccer teams.
Garner replaces Chad Arneson, who stepped down after last season. Arneson is the boys volleyball coach.