EVERETT, Wash. – Everett Community College has hired Dmitriy Tukan as the volleyball team's new interim head coach.
"I am very happy to be a Trojan," said Tukan, who was officially hired earlier this week. "I aim to build a well-run, strong volleyball program that builds the players skills with each season, and attracts the top athletes to our program who will enjoy all of the academic benefits that EvCC has to offer."
Tukan's background and knowledge for the game of volleyball is extensive dating back to his collegiate playing days as the starting outside hitter for Kovrov Technical College of Railroad Engineering in Kovrov, Russia.
His love for the game continued after college playing adult club volleyball for many years. After moving to the United States and starting a family, Tukan began coaching youth volleyball before eventually getting into the club circuit.
In 2016, Tukan and his wife Lisa started the Blue Royals Volleyball Academy, a Puget Sound Region sanctioned volleyball club based in northern Snohomish County. Though relatively new, the club has grown to feature a team in every age bracket, with 19 coaches and over 80 players. Each team has consistently risen in the power rankings, and in the spring of 2019 the first high school senior class graduated with a number of them receiving opportunities to play at
the college level.
Tukan plans to increase exposure of the program by getting the team more involved in the community and on campus. "We know Dmitriy is in a tough spot having gotten the job so late, relative to when the season starts," said EvCC Director of Athletics Garet Studer. "But we're excited for him to bring his knowledge and passion for the game to our volleyball program. He's done a tremendous job already of bringing players in and I think we have a good chance to be competitive this year."
Tukan is the 10th head coach in the 40-year history of the program and succeeds Robyn Peckol-Filimaua who had been at the helm the previous 7 years and took the team to the playoff three times, with one trip to the Quarter Finals in the NWAC Championship Tournament.
Practices for the 2019 season begin on August 1, and the squad will have just 23 days to prepare for their first matches set to take place in Springfield, OR at the NWAC Fall Showcase, a weekend in which the Trojans will play five matches in two days. The Trojans first home volleyball match will be on August 27th where EvCC will face top ranked Pierce College, a team that advanced to the semi-finals of last year's NWAC Championship Tournament and eventually finished in 3rd place.