Plum's Yocca wants to go out a Division III volleyball champ

The last four years have gone by quickly for 2015 Plum grad and current Rivier volleyball standout Khaynen Yocca. He’s dominated from the moment he hit the court at the Nashua, N.H., campus.

Now that the 6-foot-6 middle hitter is making his last tour through the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, it’s hard to tell if the opposing team’s fan bases are being polite or if they’re happy to see him leave.

“Before the game, they say my name and I get a reaction,” Yocca said. “It’s friendly competition. I’m just making sure they remember my name.”

They won’t forget Yocca’s name anytime soon. Yocca was recently named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week. It’s the third time in his career Yocca earned the honor.

“It’s exciting to say the least,” Yocca said. “I’ve been here for four years, and I’ve been working to meet all of my goals I set my freshman year. It’s nice to see all of them cultivated.”

Yocca’s award came on the heals of helping Rivier (17-7, 8-0) close out a week of competition by beating two GNAC rivals in Wentworth (MA) and Johnson & Wales (RI). The Raiders remain atop the conference standings as Rivier hits the final stretch run of the regular season schedule.

Yocca turned in a .500 hitting percentage performance, averaged 2.44 kills per set, tallied seven digs and five blocks in Rivier’s 3-2 win over Wentworth. On the same day, he tallied nine kills on 14 tries in the Raiders’ 3-1 win over Johnson & Wales.

Yocca ranks second in the GNAC and 14th in the country with a .386 hitting percentage.

“Whenever I first came to the college level, I was already a pretty decent hitter,” Yocca said. “The last few years, I’ve worked on getting better at my blocking. I’ve really worked hard on hand placement and getting out to the pins to block outside and right outside hitters. Hand placement in a big thing. That’s what we focus on, turning our hands back into the court.”

In a few weeks, Yocca will help lead his team through another GNAC postseason bracket and, if all goes well, into the NCAA Division III tournament.

“That’s what it’s all about at this point,” Yocca said. “I think we know where we stand with the other teams in the GNAC and, hopefully, we can look forward.”

Yocca counts this season’s 3-0 win over top-ranked Springfield as one of the best wins in his career but knows that Springfield will be waiting in the first round of the NCAA tourney if the Raiders make it through the GNAC postseason tourney.

“We know we can win the GNAC. We’ve done it two times,” Yocca said. “We want to win nationals.”

Yocca said once he calls it a career, he wants to return to the Pittsburgh area and coach volleyball. He said it’s going to be an emotional moment when he walks off the court for the final time.

“It’s not just the end of my four years here, the time of me wearing a jersey is over,” Yocca said. “I won’t be wearing No. 18 anymore. I’m excited about moving onto a new chapter to play. I want to be coach, and I want to run a program one day, like the people did in Plum.”