Knights Welcome Audra Dent As Beach Volleyball Coach

A new era of women's beach volleyball is underway at San Diego City College with the hiring of Audra Dent as the head coach. She comes to the Knights after several successful years coaching at the high school and club level. 

"I am incredibly excited to be joining the Knights here at City," said Dent. "We have a great group who is ready to train hard, and compete relentlessly. We are looking to build a strong foundation for our program this year and for years to come.  I look forward to supporting our team as we commit to working toward and achieving goals while continuously challenging ourselves and each other."

Dent played four years at San Diego State and then went on to compete in professional and semi-professional events until 2017. While at SDSU, her love for coaching blossomed and she began coaching high-level club teams. After her finishing her playing years in college, she began coaching high school volleyball.

She served as the first assistant at Cathedral Catholic when they won four state championships and eight CIF titles, then spent the last seven years as the head coach and program director at Francis Parker for both the indoor and sand teams, reaching the CIF finals in 2021.

As soon as sand volleyball became recognized as an organized sport, she jumped at the chance to start coaching and joined 692 West where she has been the club's longest standing coach since the start 13 years ago. This club was the first of its kind in San Diego and has since been integral in growing the sport and getting countless elite athletes into top colleges across the country.

In addition to her coaching career, Dent is an educator and earned her masters degree in The Study of Human Behavior in 2013. She has worked with a diverse population of students and staff in the classroom and as a consultant with a focus on school improvement, conducting reviews at high schools and universities, as well as coaching school staff on best practices. 

"Audra is amazing," said Athletic Director Aaron Detty." Her experience, passion for success, and love for students is undeniable. I look forward to many years of success working with Coach Dent."

Dent is only the second beach volleyball coach in the program's short history. Dede Bodnar, the team's first head coach, built the program up from a club team to an intercollegiate team in 2018.