San Marcos is happy to announce Erica Downing will be returning as our Girls Indoor Volleyball Head Coach. 

Downing was previously the head coach for the volleyball team from 2008 to 2015. 

As an alumna, Erica (whose maiden name is Menzel) was an amazing student-athlete for San Marcos, winning CIF championships in both volleyball and High Jump.

She played collegiately at UCSB, where she was a 4 year starter for legendary coach Kathy Gregory. While at UCSB, she was twice named to the Big West 1st team, as well as being named to the All-Region team.

She also assisted Gregory at UCSB before coming back to San Marcos. Downing has been inducted into both the San Marcos and SB Athletic Roundtable Hall of Fames.

Coach Downing takes over for Dwayne Hauschild and Tina Brown, who took over for Downing when she stepped down to focus on her family back in 2015. While at San Marcos, Hauschild and Brown led the Royals to several Channel League Championships.

This past season, the Royals went 27-6 with a junior-heavy team, including going 11-1 in the Channel League, winning the championship, and competing in the Division 2 playoffs.

“Dwayne and Tina did an outstanding job and we are very grateful for their leadership. The program is as strong as it’s ever been,” said Athletic Director Aaron Solis.

Hauschild continues to be a valuable assistant with the Boys team, who also won the Channel League title and play a 2nd round match at home on Friday.

Coach Brown continues as an assistant for the girls beach team, which also won the Channel League title before dropping a Division 1 quarterfinal match to Redondo Beach this past Tuesday.

“I had the honor of coaching Erica when she played basketball and she is one of the best athletes to ever come out of San Marcos. I loved watching her coach the team ten years ago. Like her predecessors, she is a competitor and knows what it takes to get to the next level, but at the same time understands the relationship side of a team,” commented Solis.

“Dwayne and Tina did an excellent job for a long time, and I know Erica will continue to build on the positive culture of our program and school. The Menzel/Downing Family roots run deep at San Marcos and I couldn’t be more pleased that Erica has agreed to take over.”