Central College volleyball March 27, 2008

Nikkel joins Central staff

PELLA—Former Cal State-Stanislaus head coach Cindy Nikkel has joined the Central College staff as an assistant volleyball coach.    

A Dordt College graduate, Nikkel was the volleyball program director at Ripon (Calif.) Christian High School from 1987-98, leading her team to runner-up state finishes twice and earning coach of the year honors five times.

Nikkel was head coach at NCAA Division II Cal State-Stanislaus from 1998-2004. The squad’s 19-13 record in 2002 set a school mark for most season wins. She received an NCAA Sportsmanship Award in 2000.

Since moving to Pella with her family Nikkel has served as eighth grade coach at Pella Christian and also coached an AAU team. She is an experienced camp and clinic instructor.

“Cindy is an experienced coach at various levels of competition and has a great amount of teaching knowledge she can pass along to our players,” said head coach Kent Clayberg. “She has a heart for coaching and for the athletes and fits the ideals of our program perfectly. She brings a different perspective to our program that we’re very excited about.

“Cindy is a hard-working coach whose purpose goes far beyond winning volleyball matches. We’re thrilled that she’s agreed to become part of Central’s program and she’s already making a big impact on our team.

Nikkel joins a program that has captured 17 Iowa Conference championships, including the last 12 in a row. The Dutch have earned 11 NCAA Division III tournament berths, winning three national titles. Central was 27-9 last fall, finishing 17th in the AVCA Division III rankings.