Hunter Dickey is Stanford bound following Coast volleyball career
COSTA MESA -- Sometimes it takes a little divine intervention to figure out where life is going to take you ... just ask Orange Coast College volleyball standout Hunter Dickey, who has recently been accepted to play volleyball and attend school at Stanford University in the fall.
For a student bright enough to attend Stanford ... let's just say OCC was not initially in Dickey's future plans out of high school.
The Huntington Beach HS grad was wrapping up his prep career and was planning on attending UC Santa Barbara following graduation. "We made the trip up to UCSB and I absolutely loved it," Dickey said. "The campus looked like it came straight out of a movie. I could study and do my surfing and really enjoy my time in college. But on the ride home, I prayed on this decision and in that moment, I had the feeling that God wanted to give me a different opportunity.
"I was accepted to UCSB, UC San Diego, Pepperdine and Ohio State, but no scholarships and not to play volleyball. Plus, my Dad was in the process of transferring jobs and getting adjusted there, so the thought of staying local seemed like a more logical plan. I had played for (OCC head coach) Travis Turner while at Balboa Bay Club and I know if I wanted to go to OCC, I'd be able to get an opportunity to play volleyball too.
"Community college can be an amazing opportunity and I could stay home a little longer so I really was at peace with my decision to come to OCC. So, I said 'yes' to Travis and 'no' to the other schools.
For Turner, he knew how special Dickey was while as a player with Balboa Bay Club, but the longtime Pirates skipper knows the quality of the person Hunter is as well. "Every once in a while, you come across a kid that teaches you more than you could ever teach him ... Hunter Dickey is that kid," Turner said. "Whether Hunter was in the match or on the bench, his energy never changed and I think that is why his teammates have so much respect for him."
After being a part of OCC's 22-1 team in 2019, Dickey set his sights on 2020 in the hopes of bringing a state championship back to the Pirates. Also, he was setting his sights on where to attend college beyond Coast and his options were plentiful. "My dad went to UCLA and that was always a top choice of mine, but in the back of my mind, the thought of Stanford was always there," Dickey said. "The thought of attending such a solid university with the dream of playing volleyball in Maples Pavilion ... it all seemed like a longshot. My mom and I talked about it when I was looking after high school but it never materialized. While I was at OCC, I told Travis I wanted to apply to Stanford, but I wasn't sure if they even accepted transfers. He asked around and found out they DID accept transfers, so I went for it."
In October of 2019, the process began for Dickey and the Stanford application process was something he hadn't experienced before. "The UC applications had four essays and there, you're able to really craft your narrative," Dickey said. "With Stanford, you had 11 varying levels of questions that required anywhere from a few pages to just 5-10 words, so you really had to carefully think and critique each answer. It took me nearly four months to make sure each answer was exactly how I wanted it to be. Then from there, you report to the college to make sure your application is on the right track and I stayed in touch with the Dean of Students at OCC to make sure things were going as smooth as it could be. It was really a strenuous process."
Once again, higher powers aligned for Dickey as Stanford -- a school with only a 4% acceptance rate (second-toughest in the nation) -- was not only looking for a setter for their volleyball program, but the campus as a whole wanted to bring in more transfer students, so both of these opportunities played well into Dickey's favor. "God's timing," Dickey said. "It was a very tight window ... Stanford wanted to see the leadership qualities I had, so I made sure I had a 4.0 GPA, I was a captain on the volleyball team, I was a Senator with the Student Senate at OCC, I studied in France as part of a Study Abroad program ... all of these things helped make all of this possible. I had a purpose to be at OCC and I wanted to make the most of it."
His hard work did not go unnoticed by his Pirate head coach or his Pirate teammates. "My favorite thing about Hunter was how embedded he was into the Orange Coast College community," Turner said. "Hunter is a student-athlete in every sense of the word and he made the most out of his experience at OCC."
Said OCC middle blocker Al Hussein on Dickey, "I look up to Hunter quite a bit. He's taught me that if you truly work for what you want, you'll get it. He would try his best to help everyone around him while he crushes it in every aspect of life. Hunter Dickey is the man … you can always count on him for anything and that's what makes him so special."
During his two-year tenure at Coast, Dickey found out firsthand the resources this campus has to offer. "OCC is what you make of it," Dickey said. "If you want to make your time at Orange Coast an academic opportunity, you absolutely can do that. Once you realize how special the professors are and the experiences they've had in their lives ... it's almost like having a cheat code in a video game. You can really learn so much about anything you want. I eventually would love to work for the United Nations and help with refugees all over the world and during my time at Coast, I took a marine science class just for the heck of it and I was blown away about what I learned. I always loved to surf, but I learned so much more about how the oceans affected life around the world, including the fields I'd like to get into after college. If you want to be pushed, OCC will push you."
On the volleyball court, Dickey was one of the leaders of the Pirates in all areas of life. He had 41 kills and 25 digs for Coast through 11 matches (7-4) before the season was stopped short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of a shortened Pirate career, Dickey will take a lifetime of memories with him to Palo Alto. "Some of my best memories include being sent through the ringer during the fall conditioning program," Dickey said. "Just going through the battles with my teammates and developing a bond and a friendship that will stay with me forever. I'll miss the van rides with the guys to the matches because it was there where we all talked about our dreams beyond OCC and what we wanted to accomplish and we were all there for each other to help obtain those goals. In that confined space, we got to laugh and bond and dream together."
Finally, on May 8, the news came from Stanford. "My family went to my grandparents' house and with my grandpa recently in a wheelchair, it was such an amazing opportunity to be able to share this with him and the rest of the family, Dad is corporate pilot, so he was in Nashville and we had him and other members of the family on Facetime. I opened up the letter on the phone with everyone, said a quick prayer, then saw I was accepted. I was completely in shock and left speechless. What an amazing feeling that was.
"Barring any COVID complications, I have filed my acceptance and will plan on attending Stanford in the fall. There is already lots of talk about social distancing with athletes and we all hope this COVID lessens up a bit.
"Even though I was a hitter at OCC, I grew up as a setter and it's a position I'm much more comfortable with. I love being the guy that starts the ally-oops, to use a basketball term. Watching my teammates sky into the air and absolutely destroy a volleyball is so much fun for me. I can't wait to be a part of that again."
So what learning experiences will Dickey take with him to one of the top universities in the nation? "Without a doubt, Travis taught me to be consistent on the volleyball court. Do what you do and do it well all of the time. But I also think that consistency applies to dealing with life off of the volleyball court and how you interact with people. It starts with you.
"I hope my experience here shows that if you want something bad enough ... go for it. Ask a lot of questions, find your passion and do the right things to help craft the narrative you want for your life."
