Head Coach (2nd Season)

Park University head volleyball coach Mike Talamantes had a whirlwind first season leading both the men's and women's volleyball programs, guiding the women to their first 20-win season since 2006 before coaching the men's team to its third NAIA Men's Volleyball National Invitational Tournament title in school history.

While leading Park to the 2012 Tachikara-NAIA Men's Volleyball National Invitational Tournament championship, Talamantes earned the AVCA NAIA Coach of the Year award along with the MAMVIC West Coach of the Year after leading Park to a 21-7 overall record and a 9-1 conference mark. On the women's side, he led Park to a third-place finish in the AMC standings with a 22-10 overall record and AMC record of 11-5.

Under Talamantes, Park won its third national championship in program history and Fray Luis Fajardo Arteaga earned his second AVCA All-America award. Talamantes also coached Park's first-ever Capital One Academic All-Americans, as Vanessa Lawrenz landed on the volleyball first-team, and Raphael Vieira landed on the men's at-large second-team.

Talamantes came to Park after his most recent stop as the head women's volleyball coach at Occidental College, an NCAA Division III institution in Los Angeles, Calif., where he coached the Tigers for three seasons, from 2008 to 2010.

In 2008, Talamantes overhauled an Occidental program that had averaged four wins per year in the previous five seasons. He led Occidental to a 5-5 finish in its last 10 matches of the 2008 season, and the Tigers won more matches than any Occidental squad in eight years despite going without a senior, putting a starting lineup on the floor that included just three student-athletes with prior collegiate playing experience.

The 2009 season brought more change to the Occidental volleyball program under Talamantes' tutelage, when the Tigers completed their best season since 2001, posting 15 wins and the program's best conference finish in nine seasons.

On the heels of a nine-player freshman class, Occidental won the Tiger Fall Classic tournament championship, and the team had its first all-conference player since 2002. Occidental also beat a regionally ranked program, defeating Pomona Pitzer, helping the team finish 7-2 over its final nine matches, missing the conference tournament by one spot.

In 2010, Talamantes put his finishing stamp on the Occidental women's volleyball program, leading the Tigers to a 25-8 record, one of the most successful seasons in school history. His Tigers posted a school-record 12-match winning streak, only after a 10-match winning streak earlier in the season, helping the team reach as high as No. 3 in its regional rankings, earning a spot in the NCAA Division III national poll.

Occidental beat its first nationally ranked opponent since the 2001 season, using four sets to knock off Redlands in September, and the team secured its first postseason appearance since 1983, finishing second in the SCIAC, its best showing in the conference since 1992.

Talamantes coached an All-American in 2010, as sophomore outside hitter Logan Boyer-Hayse was an AVCA All-American at season's end, after earning MVP honors at the Tiger Fall Classic, All-Tournament at Colorado College's Marriott Spike It Up Classic, First-Team All-SCIAC and First-Team All-West Region. Talamantes also coached a pair of freshmen who earned individual accolades, including Jessie Altman's all-tournament awards at Colorado College and Stephanie Gann's all-conference and all-region honors at season's end. Gann was also the first student-athlete in Occidental's volleyball program history to be named SCIAC Freshman of the Year.

Prior to Talamantes' three-year stint at Occidental, he was a successful boys and girls high school coach in California, coaching the girls at Rosary High School in Orange County, helping transform a program that had not qualified for the playoffs in its previous six seasons, leading Rosary to four-straight playoff appearances and helping the program to top 10 recognition in Division One and in Orange County.

His girls teams battled some of the top high school programs in California, including Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita, members of the rugged Trinity League. In his final three seasons at Rosary, Talamantes led the Royals to a semifinal appearance in 2005, followed by back-to-back appearances in the round of 16.

In addition to his girls coaching duties at Rosary, Talamantes also coached the boys volleyball team at Viewpoint High School in the San Fernando Valley. He led Viewpoint boys volleyball to new heights, winning four consecutive CIF championships, putting together three-straight 30-win seasons and a finish in the top 10 in the Daily News final poll in three of his final four seasons.

Through his prep career, Talamantes trained players that went on to play at Cal, UC-Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount, USC, Le Moyne College, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Dominguez Hills, St. Peter's, Newbury College, Florida International, San Diego State, UCLA, Army, Regis, Occidental and Embry-Riddle.

Vinicius Baigan, Assistant Coach
1st Season

Vinicius Baigan completed his playing career and his undergraduate studies in the spring at Park University, and in 2012-13, he will begin his first season as assistant to head coach Mike Talamantes.

Baigan was a three-year letterwinner for the Pirates, from 2010 to 2012, after transferring to Park from Missouri Valley College. He played for the Vikings for one season, in 2009.

As a senior, Baigan saw playing time in 27 matches, including four starts, totaling 77 digs and 87 set assists during his final season. As a junior, he played in 24 matches with one start, earning 60 digs, and as a sophomore, he had 92 digs in 29 matches. Baigan appeared in 227 sets in three seasons helping Park's defensive back line.

Baigan earned a bachelor's degree in business marketing in May and is pursuing his master's degree at Park. He is originally from Osasco, Brazil.