MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's College Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Matoso announced on Tuesday the hire of Janice Harrer as the head beach volleyball coach of the Gaels.
 
Harrer has spent the last five seasons helping build the Oregon beach volleyball program from the ground up. She joined the staff before the 2018 season as a volunteer assistant when the program was beginning its fifth year. Prior to her arrival, they had never won more than three matches in a season. In five years, their winning percentage nearly tripled, while Harrer went from a volunteer assistant to associate head coach.
 
The Ducks found their way into the Pac-12 All-Conference team following the 2022 beach season, with Brooke Nuneviller on the Pac-12 Second Team, and Reagan Hope being named to the All-Freshman team. Those were the first two all-conference players for Oregon beach volleyball in program history.
 
"We are thrilled to announce Janice as our new head beach volleyball coach. Janice is one of the most decorated beach volleyball players of all-time, and she's helped grow the game wherever she's gone," Matoso said. "She is the perfect individual to help our beach volleyball program build upon years of success and reach new heights. We welcome her to Moraga and the Saint Mary's family, and can't wait to see her leadership in action."
 
Harrer is one of the most experienced and successful beach volleyball players of all-time, with a career that spanned 18 seasons. She racked up 25 professional titles across the AVP, WPVA, and FIVB Tours, and won a host of awards including a WPVA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1990. She also owns 13 combined U.S. and World Championships.
 
All of those years spent on pro tours helped her land one of the highest honors during the peak of beach volleyball on a national scale: being named an Olympic alternate for the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first season beach volleyball was included as an Olympic sport. She qualified as an alternate with her partner at the time, Gayle Stammer.
 
Harrer's career ended shortly thereafter, and in 2012 she was named to the Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame, the ultimate recognition for one of the best beach volleyball careers the sport has seen.
 
"It's an honor and a privilege to be here. I take very seriously my role as a coach to mentor these young women, student-athletes, through the vehicle of volleyball so I'm excited to get started and to help continue to build this program," Harrer said.
 
Her ties to Saint Mary's ever present, as her daughter, Hawley, is a fifth-year member of both the indoor and beach volleyball progams at Saint Mary's. Hawley has been named Second Team All-WCC in both indoor and beach volleyball, and finished her indoor career in the fall by leading the Gaels in kills.
 
Harrer heads to Moraga where she will take over an expanding beach volleyball team at Saint Mary's with its largest roster in program history, featuring 18 student-athletes, where 11 of them are beach specific student-athletes. The spring portion of beach season officially begins on February 23-25 with the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic, hosted by the University of Hawaii.