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Diana Villalpando


Diana Villalpando was announced as Corban University's inaugural head beach volleyball coach in the summer of 2019.

Despite a COVID-19 riddled start to the program in the spring seasons of 2020 and 2021, Villalpando rebounded to lead the Warriors to the best start to a program’s history in the NAIA. In the spring of 2022, Villalpando led her crew to the inaugural NAIA National Invitational Tournament for beach volleyball, where the Navy and Gold captured the first team National Championship Red Banner in school history. The following season, Villalpando led the No. 1-ranked Warriors back to another national title appearance, where they finished as the 2023 NAIA National Invitational Runner-Up program. She’s coached an NAIA Most Valuable Player (Avari Ridgway), multiple NAIA All-Tournament Pairs, and was named a 2023 NAIA Pacific Northwest Region Coach of the Year.

A familiar face for Warrior fans, Villalpando had previously served as a key piece of Corban’s nationally recognized indoor volleyball program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Villalpando brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new role as Corban’s inaugural beach volleyball coach, enjoying a successful playing and coaching career prior to her arrival in Salem.

As a student-athlete at Portland State University, she competed as a defensive specialist for the Vikings, winning 83 matches in four years and leaving the program as one of the winningest NCAA Division I players in Portland State history. She played an integral role in three Big Sky Regular-Season Championships and two Big Sky Tournament titles during her time there.

After competing for the Vikings, Villalpando went on to serve as the recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division III Lewis & Clark College, before eventually returning to her alma mater as an assistant coach in 2016. Villalpando spent the next year on the coaching staff of NCAA Division I Eastern Washington University, her last stop before joining the Corban coaching staff for the Warriors’ Final-16 season in 2018.