Homer High School volleyball program recruits standout collegiate coach
Published 4:30 am Thursday, August 13, 2026
A local parent jumped into action after Homer High School’s volleyball program was left without a head coach after last season.
While many wondered what the future of the Mariners program would hold, Delane Blackstock saw an opportunity to build something special.
Determined to give Homer athletes a chance to succeed, she reached out to Brad Houser, chairman of the Alaska Region Board of USA Volleyball, to bring high-level coaching to the community.
Houser traveled to Homer to lead a summer clinic for elementary, middle, and high school players, and also helped train local coaches. Following the clinic, Blackstock asked Houser if he knew anyone who would be interested in coaching the Homer High School girls team.
“[I] reached out to longtime colleague Kip Yoshimura, who had hoped to spend part of a summer in Alaska teaching volleyball, and the idea soon grew into something much bigger,” Houser recalled.
Yoshimura had retired in 2025 after 29 seasons as a collegiate volleyball coach, including the last 13 at Pacific University. He also coached at Gonzaga University and Lewis-Clark State College (LCSC). Once Yoshimura was on board, Blackstock helped him secure housing, transportation, and local support to make the move to Homer possible.
The Mariners team now returns with an impressive core and one of the strongest rosters in years, according to Houser, led by as many as nine seniors, including All-Conference standouts Reilly Sue Baker, Swift Blackstock, Alysha Nyvall, and second team honorees Piper Fuchs, Jaelynn Kennon, and Madalyn Miotke.
Baker and Swift form a dangerous outside hitting duo, while liberos Fuchs and Bella Loboy anchor the defense. Setters and right-side players Almalina Norman and Nyvall lead an experienced offence.
“Without Delane Blackstock’s vision and determination, this season’s excitement might never have happened,” Houser added. “Instead, Homer enters the fall believing its dream of competing for a state championship is within reach.”
Yoshimura coached the LCSC Warriors from 1993 to 2001 and is the all-time winningest coach in program history, with a 251-72 record — a staggering .777 winning percentage. His team made five NAIA national tournament appearances and won six conference and regional titles, including a national semifinals berth in 1999 — LCSC’s highest finish at the tournament.
He also won AVCA Pacific Northwest Region Coach of the Year six times while at LCSC, and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2017.
At Gonzaga, he led the Bulldogs’ Division I program for seven years, highlighted by a 17-13 record in 2007 — the best mark for a Gonzaga volleyball team in 14 seasons.
Yoshimura made an immediate impact in his first year with Pacific University in 2012, leading the Boxers to 11 wins and a third-place finish in the NWC — their best season since 1994.
Yoshimura finished his 29-year head coaching career with an overall record of 456-372, a .551 winning percentage, and will be looking to add to his win total, albeit in a different setting, this upcoming season with the Homer Mariners.
