Hanks to continue at Ottawa University (AZ)
Orange Coast College indoor and beach volleyball standout, Summer Hanks, will continue her beach volleyball career at Ottawa University (Arizona) for the 2022-23 school year, according to OCC head coach Chuck Cutenese.
Hanks was a key contributor to the success of last year's beach volleyball program as the Pirates finished the season 17-1 overall. Coast won the Orange Empire Conference title and advanced to the State Final Four for the first time in program history.
Teaming up with fellow Pirate Sara Enright, Hanks ended her OCC beach career with a 21-19, 21-17 win in the state semifinals against the Feather River College duo of Michelle Ramirez and Nellie Stevenson, with Hanks setting the tone of the match up front with her blocking and hitting abilities.
"I loved my time at OCC," Hanks said. "I have a lot of great memories with the women's indoor and beach teams as well as the mens indoor team. I am excited to move on and go to a university but I will miss the campus and the life I have made here. One thing I learned from OCC that I can bring to my new school is being a leader. I have always struggles to be the ones being looked at by everyone else for the next step, but the end of my beach season I really understood what it meant to be a leader and that will always stay with me. What I will miss most is being able to spend everyday at the beach beside my girls. There is no better life to live than one at the beach playing the sport I love."
In the fall, Hanks was the go-to hitter for the Pirates' indoor program as she guided the Pirates to a 20-6 overall record and a second-round Southern California Regional playoff berth. Hanks finished with a team-best 282 kills, 32 aces and 46 total blocks. Her 186 digs were third-best on the Pirate program for 2021.
Hanks will now take her beach skills to Ottawa University, located in Surprise, AZ. The Spirit will compete in the Golden State Athletic Conference and the squad is coached by Haleigh Carvalho (48-8 in three seasons).
"I decided on Ottawa so I could continue my education in a smaller classroom so I could be more focused on my degree, but they also offered me the change to play the sport that I love. A big thing was that I would play beach volleyball at a high level without it taking over my entire life. I can still have a job and have time to study and rest. "
Hanks is the SEVENTH Pirate volleyball player to garner the attention of four-year competition for the upcoming season. She joins fellow beach players Alanna Shields (Cal State Bakersfield), Lexy Mendoza (Westcliff University) and Rachel Street (Hope International). Moving on from the Pirate indoor program will be Street (HIU), Sara Enright (Southern Connecticut) and Faith Jones (Hope International).
