By Jacob Brown, Staff Writer
A former Newman volleyball player has taken over the role of head coach for the team and says she plans to be at Newman long term and rebuild the volleyball program.
Tori Provencio, who graduated from Newman in 2015, was recently hired to replace former coach Mike MacNeil, who announced his resignation in December.
Provencio is taking over a team that went 3-24 (1-15 in conference play) this past season and 14-101 since the 2022 season.
Athletic Director Kenyon Spears said that Provencio has arrived at Newman with coaching experience and a solid record.
“We really think we hit a home run with our new hire,” Spears said.
Provencio most recently coached volleyball at Butler Community College. During the 2025 season, she led the Grizzlies to a 20-12 record (10-6 in conference play). The Grizzlies would end their 2025 campaign in the regional quarterfinals.
She also helped lead five Grizzlies to earn All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference honors, including one first-team All-KJCCC and four second-team All-KJCCC honorees.
Provencio said she feels like she’ll have an advantage as a coach at Newman because of her experience as a player and student. She said she had a great experience at Newman and that she loves to share that with recruits.
“It's from the heart, and I have an authentic love for Newman, which goes well with the recruiting aspect to draw people to Newman," she said.
She said she also believes that starting at a junior college is a great route for players to take, as it serves as a transition period. She advocates for that route and said it might be a place for Newman to find future recruits. Provencio has already recruited three new players, who all started at Newman this semester.
Avery Kelly, a sophomore outside hitter on the volleyball team, said she has played under a new head coach every season.
“It is hard to build trust and respect for a coach, but her being an alum also brings a spark and heart to this team to succeed, and that will carry on to us to perform,” she said.
Provencio said she is now working with the team and helping it get used to her style of play and structure, both on and off the court. She said that she has found a core group of players who are driven, motivated, and respectful, which is not always the case.
“The way Coach Pro is already running the program and creating a strong culture for the players will be very important going into the fall and getting the team more wins,” said Sky Miller, a first-year outside hitter.
Provencio said she knows that rebuilding won't be easy and will be choppy at some points, but once she and the team get in the groove, all will be good, she said.
Provencio played at Pratt Community College for two years, and during her second year there, she had her daughter, Summer. She took a year off just to go to school, she said, but then felt the desire to play again.
Summer’s dad played basketball at Newman, and Provencio said she thought to herself, “Well if he can play, so can I.’”
She transferred to play at Newman for coach Natalie Rawson and was a defensive specialist/libero during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. She racked up 297 digs in her two-year stay at Newman.
After graduation, her former coach at Pratt asked her if she wanted to coach at Hutchinson Community College. She did that until she decided to get her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.
Provencio said she then took a break from coaching but soon realized she needed to get back to it.
“It’s something I can't get away from,” she said. “It's just a passion of mine.”
She went back to coach in Hutchinson and then moved to Butler for the 2025 season.
Photo: Courtesy, Tori Provencio
