EWU volleyball coach abruptly resigns

Four matches into the season, Eastern Washington University volleyball coach Miles Kydd has resigned, the school announced Tuesday afternoon. “Coach Kydd tendered his resignation this morning, and it was accepted,” said EWU Athletic Director Bill Chaves, who added that the resignation was for personal reasons. Chaves said that he is not allowed to comment further on personnel issues. Kydd’s resignation comes nine days after an alleged sexual assault on Aug. 19 by suspended football player Dalis Bruce at Pearce Hall. The alleged victim was a 17-year-old member of the EWU volleyball team. Chaves would not comment on whether Kydd’s resignation was related to the alleged assault. Bruce, 18, of Bellflower, Calif., was jailed Aug. 19 on charges of second-degree sexual assault and residential burglary. He posted $25,000 bond the following day in his first appearance in Spokane County Superior Court. His arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday, but has been postponed until Sept. 10. Several messages left on Kydd’s cell phone went unanswered Tuesday afternoon. Associate head coach Lisa Westlake will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season, which is already off to a rocky start with recent injuries to setters Laney Brown and Lindsay Niemeier. Westlake also was unavailable for comment after practice Tuesday afternoon. Brown is out six to 12 weeks with a toe injury suffered earlier this month. Niemeier, a junior from Spokane, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in her left knee in the season opener Friday at Wyoming. For now, the Eagles (0-4) are without a true setter in the lineup. Junior Ashley Wright of Leavenworth, Wash., who replaced Niemeier during the Wyoming match, will start at setter until Brown returns. Kydd is leaving the program after nine years, including the last four as head coach. He spent four years as an assistant under Wade Benson until becoming head coach in January 2008. In four years, Kydd was 57-60 overall and 40-25 in the Big Sky Conference. In 2008, his first as head coach, Kydd was selected as the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to a BSC regular-season title. Westlake is in her fifth season with the Eagles, as she signed on with Kydd in 2008. Westlake was promoted to associate head coach earlier this year. Prior to arriving at Eastern, she served as director of operations at Gonzaga University for the 2007 season and was a volunteer assistant coach with the Bulldogs the year before. She played volleyball at the University of Oregon from 1983-84, and helped lead her team to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1984. Eastern will begin a search for a new coach at the end of the season. Eastern faces three matches this weekend in the Gonzaga Tournament. EWU will face UC Riverside on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by two matches on Saturday against South Dakota State and host Gonzaga.