Joined OCC: April 17, 1975
Elected to Winged “O”: October 2, 2010
Randy was born on October 3, 1948 in Tarrant County, Texas and joined the OCC in 1970 just out of college at USC and a stint in the U.S. Air Force. He learned to play volleyball in Texas where he grew up, playing with a team coached by his mother. His mom taught him to hit with his left hand.
Randy quickly became a member of both OCC’s sand and hard-court volleyball teams and won his first Club Volleyball Doubles championship in 1972 with Jon Haneberg. He went on to win the Club title seven more times with Tom Madison, Jim Iams, Peter Ehrman, Marc Haine, and Kirk Christman. He won the last one in 1998 with Ryan Haneberg, the son of his first doubles championship partner.
Randy made his first impact on OCC volleyball in the summer of 1970 when he and his partner and fellow Winged “O” Jon Stanley came from the losers bracket to beat legendary Club champions and Winged “O”s Tommy Haine and Paul MacLaughlin. He went on to win many other two-man, four-man and mixed doubles tournaments in the sand.
In 1972 Randy became an assistant volleyball coach at the Club, coaching the six-man hard-court B team and enjoyed considerable success. He moved quickly through the ranks to the A and AA divisions. As a Masters player, Randy entered his team in the U.S. Volleyball Association’s national championships as the player/captain of the OCC 35s and 40s. The teams won both divisions in the national championships for four straight years. This feat has never been duplicated.
The USVBA national titles came in 1984 Men’s 35; 1988 Men’s 35, 1991 Men’s 35 and Men’s 40; 1992 Men’s 35 and Men’s 40; 1993 Men’s 35 and Men’s 40; 1994 Men’s 35 and Men’s 40; and 2000 Men’s 50. In addition Randy played on five Silver Medal USVBA teams and two Bronze teams. From 1973 to 2000, Randy earned All-America honors 20 times.
Randy’s skills as a player and coach did not go unnoticed, and for the past 20 years he has served as a referee for both men and women’s volleyball games for the University of Hawaii. His knowledge of the sport and his fairness have earned him a sterling reputation in the sport.
Thanks Randy for sharing your love to volleyball with all of us at OCC.
Randy passed away on October 11, 2021.