Leslie Crandell Dawes is in her third season as a Pacific assistant volleyball coach, bringing a wealth of Division III playing experience and club coaching experience to Forest Grove.
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Prior to joining the Pacific staff, Dawes spent three seasons as a head coach with the Athena Volleyball Club, which is operated by former Pacific Head Coach Lena Chan. In addition to coaching, Dawes was involved with many operational aspects with the club, including organizing travel to regional and national tournaments.
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Prior to arrival in Oregon, Dawes spent from 2004-08 with the Triangle Volleyball Club in Morrisville, N.C. Working her way up to a head coaching position after one year, she helped lead her 2004-05 team to a top-five finish at the USA Junior Olympic Championship. She also served as a coach for the club’s setter’s academy and youth programs. The players that Dawes coached at Triangle have gone on to play with such Division I powers as Penn State and UCLA.
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During her time in North Carolina, Dawes also worked as a data technician for Duke University’s Center for the Study of Aging & Human Development.
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Dawes played her collegiate volleyball at Whitman, where she was a three-year varsity player under current Whitman Director of Athletics Dean Snider. She led the Northwest Conference in service aces in her sophomore season.
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A 2002 graduate of Whitman with a major in psychology and a minor in geology, Dawes also works for Pacific University’s exercise science department teaching volleyball and fitness courses. She and her husband Andy, a professor in Pacific’s physics department, reside in Forest Grove with their three young boys.
