2011 Volleyball Roster
| NUM |
Name |
HT |
YR |
POS |
High School / Hometown |
| 2 |
Dana Belcher |
5'8 |
FR |
OH |
Warrensburg-Latham / Forsyth, IL |
| 4 |
Jessica Galotta |
5'8 |
SO |
RH |
Mother McAuley / Chicago, IL |
| 7 |
Nechelle Veal |
5'9 |
SO |
RH |
Thornton Fractional North / Lansing, IL |
| 8 |
Megan Scharnett |
5'7 |
FR |
DS |
Champaign Centennial / Champaign, IL |
| 9 |
Melanie Moore |
5'8 |
SO |
S |
Champaign Centennial / Champaign, IL |
| 10 |
Devin Houser |
5'5 |
SO |
DS |
Blue Ridge / Mansfield, IL |
| 11 |
Alexandra Pelmore |
5'8 |
FR |
OH |
Champaign Central / Champaign, IL |
| 12 |
Morgan Martells |
6'2 |
FR |
MH |
Sterling / Sterling, IL |
| 13 |
Shelby Geers |
6' |
FR |
MH |
St. Joseph-Ogden / Urbana, IL |
| 14 |
Shannon Boone |
6' |
FR |
OH |
Shelbyville / Shelbyville, IL |
Cliff Hastings
Head Coach
After two years as head volleyball coach of Parkland College, Hastings holds a record of 81-18 (0.818 winning percentage). Cliff led the Cobras to back-to-back national tournament appearances with a 3rd place finish in 2009 and 13th place finish in 2010. In those two years, the Cobras went undefeated in conference play, was ranked #1 in the country at different points in the seasons, and had 4 players earn NJCAA All-American honors. Cliff was also honored with Coach of the Year awards for the conference and region.
Cliff brings 6 years' experience as director of Prime Time Volleyball Club and 8 years of success of coaching club and high school teams (Rantoul and St. Thomas More). Cliff led Prime Time’s 18-1 team to the Junior Olympics both in 2008 and 2009, led Prime Time 16-1 to a 46-18 record in 2011 and has been successful at placement of girls matriculating from both Parkland and Prime Time to play collegiate volleyball after their time at both programs.
Cliff graduated summa cum laude with a degree in mathematics from Monmouth College where he played basketball, ran track and played on the men's club volleyball team. Cliff was an All-Conference middle hitter and he continues his competitive play as a highly ranked indoor middle hitter as well as competes on the EVP beach volleyball tour. Cliff also works as the Director of Academic Initiatives at Wolfram Research, Inc overseeing operations in the Americas, Asia and Australia for the company.
Gia Lewis-Smallwood
Assistant Coach
• Office: P204
• Phone: 217/373-3758
Gia has been with the Parkland Volleyball team for two seasons and her primary responsibilities include strength and conditioning and sports performance for the team. Along with working with the Parkland volleyball team, Gia has worked with the Prime Time Volleyball Club for three seasons.
Gia's passion for working with athletes stems from her own post-collegiate career as a professional discus thrower. Post collegiately, Gia has competed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Trials in the discus. In 2011, she finished 3rd at the USA Track and Field Nationals and is currently a USA national team member for the World Championships in Daegu South Korea.
Gia graduated with honors from the University of Illinois with a triple major in Political Science, Economics and Spanish. In addition to a rigorous academic pursuit Gia was also an All-American in track and field at the University of Illinois. She currently holds both the Big Ten and the University of Illinois record in the discus as well as the University of Illinois record in the 20lb weight throw. In 2002 she was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is one of the most prestigious awards given by the Big Ten.
Heather Horn
Assistant Volleyball Coach
Heather has served with the Parkland coaching staff for 4 years and is responsible for coaching the Cobra setters and also handles the recruiting efforts. She has worked with the Prime Time Volleyball Club for 8 years focusing on team development and coaching setters, as well as 6 years as a high school head coach.
Heather was a setter on the University of Illinois' Varsity Volleyball team from 1997-2001, making a trip to the NCAA tournament on 3 occasions and reaching the Sweet 16 in 1998. She was the recipient of the 2001 Sandy Scholtens Award, a three-time recipient of Scholar Athlete Award, Academic All Big Ten, and a George Huff recipient.
Heather has a Master's degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois. She is an Associate Director focusing on strategic human resources and labor relations at the University of Illinois. Heather continues to play competitively both indoor and outdoor.
Ron Hoppe
Assistant Volleyball Coach
In Hoppe’s second year with the program, he continues to focus on the defensive players and serve receive mechanics as well as assisting recruiting efforts and running summer camps. During that time, Ron has also head coached for Prime Time Volleyball Club where he lead the 2010-2011 Prime Time 15 Blue team to a 51-13 record, including 5 tournament championships and a 5th place finish at Regionals.
As a player, Ron helped lead Ball State's men's club volleyball team to the National Intramural Recreation Sports Association championships in 2003, 2004 and 2005. As an outside hitter in 2004 and libero in 2005, his team had back to back 5th place finishes.
Ron graduated cum laude from Ball State University in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and Political Science. He completed his master's degree in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education in 2008. Ron currently works in the Office of Student Financial Aid at the University of Illinois. He continues to play competively both indoors and outdoors.