Dillan Bennett has been named the head coach for the girls indoor and beach volleyball programs at Bishop Diego, athletic director Dan Peeters announced.
Bennett brings a wealth of experience to the positions. He previously coached high school volleyball at Laguna Blanca, Dos Pueblos and Bishop Diego, and served as an assistant coach with the women’s team at SBCC. He is currently working as a volunteer assistant with the men’s volleyball team at Penn State University.
“Dillan is a talented and accomplished coach with a track record of success and a bright future ahead of him,” Peeters said. “I am thrilled to bring him on board and look forward working with him again.”
Bennett was the boys volleyball coach at Bishop last season, leading the Cardinals to an 11-3 record in the Tri-Valley League and a berth in the CIF Division 3 playoffs.
He will be taking over the girls indoor program from John Sener, who stepped down after leading the Cardinals to the CIF playoffs the past three years.
“I’d like to thank Dan Peeters and (head of school) Karen Regan for reaching out to me when the position became available,” Bennett said. “I have always believed Bishop Diego has the support necessary to have a successful volleyball program. I am beyond excited to return to Santa Barbara as a member of the Bishop community, and look forward to beginning my new role at the school.
“My goal is to hit the ground running in May once our men’s season ends at Penn State.”
Bennett, a Dos Pueblos alum, served as Laguna Blanca’s boys indoor coach from 2009-2015, guiding the Owls to back-to-back trips to the CIF-SS semifinals in 2014 and 2015. He also headed up the boys and girls sand teams while at Laguna Blanca.
He coached the girls indoor volleyball team at Dos Pueblos from 2015-2016 and led the Chargers to their first post-season berth in four years during the 2016 season. In 2017, Bennett worked as an assistant coach for the SBCC women’s volleyball team.
Bennett has also coached both boys and girls indoor and beach volleyball at the club level since 2009.
He received national recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2013, receiving the “30 Under 30″ Award, which named him as one of the 30 top up-and-coming coaches in the country.