San José State head coach Oscar Crespo begins his seventh season as head coach at his alma mater. A 1990 graduate, Crespo was named program[apos]s sixth head coach in March of 2007.
The 2013 team returns four starters and the libero from the 2012 team that finished 14-16 overall and 9-9 in the Western Athletic Conference, tying for sixth place.
Crespo is poised to lead the Spartan program as San José State will play in its first season in the Mountain West. The Spartans will play as part of the 11-team league that includes Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming.
Crespo[apos]s teams have shown success and growth over the past six years. In his first two seasons, Crespo led the Spartans to the semifinal match of the WAC Tournament in each year. Crespo recorded his first collegiate win with a 3-0 sweep of Grambling State on August 24, 2007.
The Spartans won two tournaments during Crespo[apos]s first season - ASU/ Bancorp South Classic and the UVU/La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational. San José State defeated Pacific-10 foe Arizona State, 3-1. The team also got a jolt in its final non-conference match of the year as a 5.6 earthquake shook Spartan Gym in game two against Pacific on October 30, forcing the cancellation of the match.
The 2011 team won the Hilton Stockton Invitational title with a 3-1 record that included a win at Pacific for the first time since 1990. That team also showed a 10-win improvement from 2010 to 2011.
In six years, 11 Spartan players have received either first or second team All-WAC recognition, while five were named to the all-freshman team. In 2012, Mary Alice O[apos]Reilly was named to the first team, while Michaela Leonard was named to the second team and All-Freshman team.
Rooted in fundamentals, Crespo believes in the well-rounded student-athlete. He wants each member of his team to be a successful student in the classroom and a solid athlete on the court. For his efforts in helping his student athletes graduate, Crespo was honored by the San José State Athletics Board by being named the 2012 Coach of the Year.
During his six years, 19 players have earned 47 Academic All-WAC honors. The team had the highest combined team grade-point average for the 2009-10 Fall and Spring semesters at San José State, winning the Order of Spartan Team GPA Award and the Athletics Board[apos]s Best Academic Performance Award.
Prior to accepting the Spartan position, Crespo spent seven years as a member of the University of Nevada volleyball coaching staff. From 2000-01, he was the Wolf Pack[apos]s assistant head coach before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the start of the 2002 season.
His primary areas of focus at Nevada were athlete training and development; opponent scouting and evaluation; recruiting; setter development; drill development and individual and team skill evaluation; development of defensive and offensive systems, and statistical analysis of individual and team play. His recruiting expertise helped the Pack sign the 23rd-ranked volleyball recruiting class for 2006 according to PrepVolleyball.com.
A member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, USA Volleyball, and the Northern California Volleyball Association, Crespo is an accomplished coach with international experience. He spent the spring of 2002 coaching a USA College All-Star team in France, Holland and Belgium.
In the spring of 2007, Crespo was an assistant coach for the USA Volleyball Federation/Bring It Promotions (Senior) Select Team.
The USA/BIP team, which included former Spartans Jennifer Senftleben and Jessie Shull, traveled to Argentina to play the Argentinean National team as well as top club teams around Buenos Aires.
Crespo[apos]s vast coaching experience also includes stints at the University of California (1995-98), Saint Mary[apos]s College (1993-94) and De Anza College.
Crespo received a bachelor[apos]s degree in art history from San José State and was a member of the men[apos]s club volleyball team. Crespo and his wife, Lisa Ice-Crespo, a three-time All-American volleyball player at San José State, reside in Los Gatos with their three children: Ryan, Rachel and Karly Nicole.