SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco State volleyball Head Coach
Matt Hoffmann is pleased to announce the addition of legendary Gator
Iris Tolenada to the coaching staff. Tolenada, a four-time All-CCAA honoree, and second player in SF State history to earn CCAA Player of the Year, will return to the Gators this upcoming season as an assistant coach.
"I have known Iris for a very long time. I knew I'd want her as an assistant should the opportunity become available," said Hoffman. "She has the chance to add her experiences as a former student-athlete at her alma mater. She has a passion for coaching, has received nothing but praise from everyone who has seen her coach, and I have no doubt she will do an amazing job."
A 2013 graduate, Tolenada is one of the most decorated players in SF State volleyball history. She became just the second player in SF State history to be named CCAA Player of the Year, and to date, the only volleyball player to earn that honor. She was a four-time All-CCAA honoree, twice earning first team honors. She is the career record holder for assists with 4,678 and sets played with 437. She is second all-time in digs with 1,275 and third all-time in aces with 121.
Following graduation, Tolenada played professionally both domestically and abroad. Last year she played for Team Pocari Sweat in the Shakey's V-League in the Philippines. That season, she helped guide the Pocari Sweat to an Open Conference Championship and was named the Setter of the Year.
In 2015, she was the No. 1 overall pick in the Philippine Super Liga where she played for the Phillips Gold Lady Slammers. Tolenada earned PSL All-Filipino Conference Best Setter honors and helped the Lady Slammers to a third-place finish. Following the season, Tolenada represented the Philippines Senior National Team at the Asian Volleyball Championship in Tianjin, China. She served as a vice captain for Philips Gold as well as the national team.
Before starting her career in the PSL, Tolenada spent one season with the Northern California Volleyball Association's Dream Team. She co-captained a squad that competed in the 2014 USAV Open National Championships.
Her coaching resume includes a season serving as the volunteer assistant coach at Santa Clara for the 2015-16 season. That year saw the Broncos go 22-9 (13-5 WCC) to finish with the fourth-best winning percentage for a single season in program history and reach the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to that, she has been very involved with Vision Volleyball Club as an 18-1's assistant, where she works with setters, liberos and defensive specialists. She has also worked at Stanford's volleyball camp since 2010. Tolenada has also coached at Bentley Upper School (Lafayette, Calif.), Woodside Priory School (Portola Valley, California) and Slainte Volleyball Club (San Francisco, California).
"I am extremely excited to be part of the Gator family again," said Tolenada. "Working with student-athletes who want to get better each day inspires me to pursue my passion of coaching. I look forward to working with everyone to help improve athletics at SFSU."
For more information on SF State Volleyball and all 12 of SF State's Athletics programs be sure to follow the Gators on Twitter at
@SFState_Gators.
Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.
Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
