Linnea Donovan, Director
Email:Donovan@FriscoVolleyball.net Phone: 469-854-1370

Coach Donovan is originally from Illinois where she played for Morton High School as a setter, outside hitter and defensive specialist. Donovan was captain all 4 years and played on the varsity team for 3 years.  She earned 2 First Team All Area and First Team All Conference awards and 6 All Tournament awards.

Donovan played for Shoreline Volleyball Club and the prestigious Sports Performance Volleyball Club. While at Shoreline, Donovan’s team placed 3rd at the 1992 Lone Star National Qualifier and 2nd at the 1993 Junior Olympics.

Donovan began her coaching career at Court Masters Volleyball Club in Dubuque, IA. During her 3 years with Court Masters, her team placed 4th at Northern Lights, 2nd at Gold Regionals, and qualified for Nationals in Salt Lake City.    While in Dubuque, Donovan was the head coach at East Dubuque High School. In 2001, she founded High Altitude Volleyball Club where she served as director of the club and coached two seasons.   At the same time, Donovan was the head coach at Clarke College. Over two seasons, she had 2 players named All Conference and 2 players named All Academic.

Upon leaving Iowa, Donovan began working for Frisco Athletic Network coaching the 16 National and 14 National teams.   In 2006, Donovan was promoted to Coaching Director of the club.   In addition to FAN, Donovan was the head coach for Lucas Christian Academy. While with LCA, she placed 2nd at state that year. Donovan returned to LCA for the 2008 season.

Donovan participated in the following camps/clinics: • North Texas Region High Performance Team Tryouts 2007 • Fusion Volleyball Club Summer Clinic Series 2006, 2007 & 2008 • Clarke College All Skills, Hitters, Defense, and Setters Camps 2002, 2003 • University of Kentucky Team Camps 2002, 2003 • Triton College All Skills Volleyball Camp 1996

Rebecca Dake, Lead Coach

Coach Dake is from Missouri where she previously coached with Capital Area Volleyball Club. While at CAVC, she worked with the 12’s regional players.

Dake has worked with many college and club coaches at 3 University of Illinois summer camps. In addition to these, she worked summer camps for the University of Missouri St. Louis under Denise Silvester and Eric Kasorg. Dake coached the 8th grade team at Immaculate Conception School in 2005.

Dake also has a wealth of playing experience. At the club level, she played with Team Saint Louis. During her 17’s & 18’s seasons, they were the top team in the region. During her 17s year with Team Saint Louis, the team finished 3rd in the open division of the Junior Olympics (2000).

Playing at Truman State University, she was coached by Qi Wang and his wife Shelly. Both coaches are former Chinese Elite Team members. Qi was the 2002 AVCA NCAA II National Coach of the Year and three times conference and region coach of the year. In four years, the team amassed a 133-17 (.887) win-loss record.

Dake has continued to play competitively since graduating in '05. She played USAV Women’s in 2005, where she and her partner came in 3rd in the women's open division of the '05 Tachikara Inland Beach Tour and 2nd in the Emerald Coast Fall Classic 4-player '05. They also played in the Motherlode in Aspen, Co. Additionally, Dake and her partner won the Open/A Women's grass division of Spikin' It in St. Louis, MO and she finished 2nd in the Missouri Show-Me State Games with her co-ed 6s indoor team.

Ben Ewald, Performance Director

Coach Ewald has co-developed a performance program specifically for LoneStar Volleyball Club. He and his wife, Coach Sabrina Ewald will be delivering this program in practices throughout the season.

Coach Ewald has over 11 years coaching and training experience in various sports including soccer, tennis, golf, place kicking and punting, and basketball.

Ewald earned his Bachelors in Health & Physical Education/Exercise Science and Masters in Exercise Performance/Sports Administration at Louisiana Tech University. During graduate school, Coach Ewald was the Director of F.I.T. Program at Louisiana Tech University where he designed workout programs for the campus staff. As an instructor of Human and Sports Performance Labs, Ewald worked with undergraduates in the field of exercise and fitness testing. He also was an instructor for other sports oriented courses in the H&PE department.

After moving to Texas, Ewald was the head girls’ soccer coach at Richardson High School for 3 seasons. He then was the JV boys’ coach at Centennial High School in Frisco for one season where his team posted a 10-4-4 record.

Ewald was the Goalkeepers coach for Soccer America, Everton FC, and Texas Football Club. He holds a National Goalkeepers Certification and an Advanced Regional Team Certification both through NSCAA and is also Nike SPARQ certified.

Sabrina Ewald, Performance Director

Coach Ewald has co-developed a performance program specifically for LoneStar Volleyball Club. She and her husband, Coach Ben Ewald will be delivering this program in practices throughout the season.

Ewald has played volleyball since 6th grade where she has primarily played as a defensive specialist. After high school, Ewald earned her Bachelors in Health and Physical Education/Exercise Science and Masters in Exercise Performance/Sports Administration at Louisiana Tech University. Ewald was also a member of the 1997-1998 Louisiana Tech Tennis Team.

In graduate school, Ewald was the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Louisiana Tech Tennis Team during their Fall Season in 2000. During the 00-01 quarters, she was an instructor of sports classes offered in the H&PE department. During her course work in graduate school, Ewald focused on female athletes and sports injuries.

Ewald has 8 years coaching experience from 7th grade through high school in volleyball, tennis, track, soccer. Prior to Lonestar, Ewald was in Richardson ISD where she coached 8th grade volleyball for 4 years posting a 26-6 record and 2 district titles. She also coached at J.J. Pearce High School as the assistant varsity tennis coach.

After leaving Richardson, Ewald coached 13s and 14s with Fusion VBC for 3 years. At Fusion, she was a private lessons instructor and worked summer clinics alongside Coach Donovan.

With Lonestar VBC, Coach Ewald is private lesson instructor and is involved with the summer clinics. Coach Ewald is currently the JV coach/Assistance Varsity coach at Lucas Christian Academy under Coach Linnea Donovan.

Wesley “Skip” Freeman, Lead Coach

Skip Freeman was named the second head volleyball coach in Southeastern Oklahoma State history prior to the 2008 season, after guiding the Savage Storm for the 2007 season as the interim coach.

His first season at the helm Southeastern had a pair of players honored with Jordan Parks and Destiny Brown each earning second team All-LSC recognition.

Freeman has been involved with volleyball for 20 years as a player and a coach.  He is a USAV CAP II certified coach and has been the Director of Caching for the Oklahoma Charge Volleyball Club for the past two seasons. 

He was elected as the 2007 Oklahoma Regional Volleyball Association Head Coach and also held the position of High Performance Director for OKRVA.  Freeman now holds an elected position on the OKRVA Regional Board and is one of the Junior Representatives to the Youth Junior Olympic Volleyball Division.

Freeman is an assistant coach for the U. S. Women's Sitting Paralympics team.

In recent years he has worked numerous camps, including Central Oklahoma, Edmond Santa Fe High School, Edmond North High School and the Oklahoma Charge Clinics.

Freeman is a 1999 graduate of Pepperdine University and was a standout on the school's men's volleyball team from 1995-97.

Jeff Gilleland, Lead Coach

Prior to Lonestar VBC, Coach Gilleland was previously with Team PSA during the 07-08 season. At PSA, he was the 14 Black coach and the assistant for the 18 Red team.

Gilleland coached with Texas Heat Volleyball Club for 5 years where he coached 13-18’s. In 1997, his team was runner-up at Nationals.

Gilleland has 15 years playing experience as a setter and right side hitter, 8 of those years have been playing on various indoor and outdoor teams around the metroplex.

Aimee Livingston, Assistant Coach

Coach Livingston comes from Highlands VBC in Missouri. At Highlands VBC, she coached the 12’s through 14’s age groups from 2005 to 2007.

Livingston is a former player of Washburn University and Burlington High School. She has played as a setter, outside hitter, and defensive specialist. While at Washburn, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine.

Chris Mares, Assistant Coach

For the last nine years, Coach Mares has worked as a National Level and Regional Level official. He officiates matches at all collegiate levels from Division I to NAIA. He has been involved in officiating at conference tournaments and NCAA Div. II post season tournaments. He is also very involved in recruiting and training others to be volleyball officials in the North Texas Region.

Mares began coaching with Arizona North Valley Juniors as a head coach for the 2nd 18’s team. This team placed 5th at Regionals and 13th at Northern Lights National Qualifier.

He then began working with Texas Assault as the 17’s head coach. This team placed 11th at Regionals and 4th at the River City Classic.

Mares then joined the Frisco Athletic Network where he coached with Fusion VBC as the 16’s coach for one season. He then assisted with the development of the Preparatory program and has coached the Preparatory teams for the last 2 seasons.

Mares also participates as an athlete in the USAV Men’s A Division

Janae Mertens, Lead Coach

Coach Mertens has coached for the past 4 years in Texas and California. Mertens has coached 17’s & 14’s, clinics, and private lessons for Fusion VBC.

Mertens began her playing career with the Manhattan Beach Volleyball Club, and Mira Costa High School. She then played for one of the top volleyball clubs in the SCVA, South Bay Volleyball Club. At Mira Vista H.S., Mertens’s team was lead by DaeLea Aldrich and AVP player Lisa Arce and competed in national level tournaments in Durango, CO and at the Nike Challenge. Mertens also holds 12 titles when she played for the United States Junior National Badminton Team.

Krystal Miles, Assistant Coach

Coach Miles began playing volleyball as an outside hitter at Forshay Learning Center in Los Angeles, CA. She was awarded MVP during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 seasons. She also served as team captain during the same three seasons. In the 1998, 1999 and 2001 club seasons, Miles played for the Los Angeles Starlings as an outside hitter.

Miles then played at Grambling State University as a full scholarship athlete. She played libero and outside hitter, and was awarded the Libero of the Year and earned All SWAC honors in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Miles was also captain of her squad in 2003 and 2004. In 2002, Miles was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Starlings.

After moving to the Dallas area, Miles began coaching with the Dallas Starlings Volleyball Club where she was head coach for the 15’s in 2005 and 12’s in 2006.

Harvey Sanders, Lead Coach

Harvey Sanders enters his first season with the Mean Green volleyball team after a three-year stay as the men's head coach at NAIA power Newman University.

Sanders guided the Jets to a third place finish in the 2006 NAIA National Tournament and a 22-14 record. He was instrumental in leading Newman to 12 all-conference selections in his tenure, including First-Team All-American Paul Sanderson who led the nation in kills per game with 4.7 and ranked second in aces with .70 in 2006.

Sanders took the reigns at Newman after a stint with USA Volleyball. The summer preceding his appointment, he was an apprentice coach with the High Performance Team, working camps in Florida and Colorado Springs. The coaching position came after four years of tryout and evaluative staff for the High Performance, Junior, and Youth National Team programs. 

Prior to the USA Volleyball appointment, Sanders was the assistant coach for Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Fla. While at Cookman, Sanders was the recruiting coordinator and primary trainer for a team that consistently finished in the top third of the conference and steadily increased their RPI.

Sanders was a head junior college coach for two years and an assistant NCAA Division II coach for three before Cookman.

Harvey earned a Bachelor's of Art Degree in Chemistry from Fort Hays State University in 1998 and a Masters of Science Degree in Health and Human Performance from Fort Hays State University in 2004.

Shandra Sanders,Assistant Coach

Shandra (Zickler) Sanders has been playing and coaching volleyball for over ten years. She played for the Lamar University Cardinals in Beaumont, Texas where she was a two time All-Southland Conference Selection.

Coach Sanders played for Texas volleyball clubs and coached volleyball club teams in Texas and Kansas such as Dallas Premier, Wichita Shockwave, Texas Juniors and East Texas Jrs. Coach Sanders also trains athletes at volleyball camps hosted by several NCAA Division I and II universities.

Aaron Smith, Lead Coach

In California, Coach Smith coached with Epic VBC and Sunwest VBC. At Sunwest, he earned multiple top 25 finishes in the nation. At Epic, he was a consultant and specialist working with the club’s setters. At Sunwest, Coach Smith served as the club director during from 2000 to 2002. As a coach, he worked with both the 16 & 17 National teams, competing in the Southern California Volleyball Association. His teams competed at the Volleyball Festival and Junior Olympics. Smith was also the head freshman coach at Bishops School from 1998 to 2005. During his tenure, the team posted a 17-1 record. Smith was also the assistant varsity coach in which the team made several appearances in the state play-offs and finished 1st and 2nd in their league.

As a player, Smith played on the varsity for all 4 years and was captain for 2 of those 4 years. His coach was a member of the 1988 US National Gold Medal Olympic Team. While in high school, he participated in the Junior Olympic Club program at San Diego Volleyball Club 2 years as a setter. After high school, Smith declined a scholarship to play at Ohio State and instead attended the University of Missouri-Columbia. While there, he coached several intramural teams and assisted the women’s program under Coach Craig Sherman.

Ben Warfield, Assistant Coach

Coach Warfield began playing volleyball in high school and played for club Tejas for 2 years. He continued playing at the University of Texas for the Men's Club team for 3 years. While at UT, Warfield coached for the club Hillcountry Juniors. For two years at Hillcountry, he worked with the 15's and 16's. Warfield then moved to Rockwall where he coached 15’s and 16s for Club MVP for three years.

Christy Williams, Lead Coach

Coach Williams began her playing career at Plano Senior High. Following high school, Coach Williams was a middle blocker for the Texas Tech Club Team for two years. While in Lubbock, Coach Williams coached select soccer for one year.

Following graduation, Williams has coached at Skyline Juniors and Allen Sports Association. While at Skyline Performance, her 13’s team was ranked in the top 10 in 2007 and top 20 in 2008 in the region. While in Allen, Coach Williams worked with 5th – 7th graders.