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- Title:
- Head Volleyball Coach
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- Phone:
- 972-860-7324
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- Email:
- pnickel@DallasCollege.edu
Bio
Phil Nickel was named head volleyball coach at Dallas College Eastfield on September 6, 2022.
Following the 2024 season, Nickel owns a 77-20 record at Eastfield with back-to-back National Junior College Athletic Association Division III National Championships.
Nickel guided the Harvester Bees to a second straight NJCAA Division III title in 2024, following a 34-1 season. The Harvester Bees won their second straight Dallas Athletic Conference championship, in addition to repeating as NJCAA Division III South District Tournament champs. Eastfield swept 29 opponents for the second straight year, and went 15-0 on neutral site courts. The Harvester Bees were 10-0 in conference play, and extended their home court winning streak to 26 consecutive matches, dating back to the end of Nickel's first season in Mesquite. Carli Banks was named the NJCAA Division III National Player of the Year. He coached five NJCAA Division III All-Americans, including three First Team selections, one Second Team choice and a Third Team recipient. Nickel was also named one of two American Volleyball Coaches Association Two-Year Region Coaches of the Year in the Southwest Region.
Nickel was named the NJCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 2023 after guiding the Harvester Bees to a 35-0 record and national championship in his second year with the program. He tutored three First Team All-Americans and one Second Team All-American in the year Eastfield became the first NJCAA Division III volleyball program to go unbeaten and win the title. Azoria Davis was named the NJCAA Division III National Player of the Year. The Harvester Bees dropped only six sets during the season, winning the DAC regular season title and the NJCAA Division III South District championship before capturing the national crown with a 3-0 victory over Century College in the title match. Eastfield registered 29 sweeps in the season.
In his first year with the Harvester Bees in 2022, after coming on board a month into the season, Nickel's team won eight matches. His team won the first two matches he was on the sidelines, both by three-set sweeps. His team posted five sweeps, including the final regular season conference match.
Nickel held the role as head coach and recruiting coordinator at Drive Nation Volleyball Club in Irving, Texas from 2021-22. Prior to his time with Drive Nation, Nickel coached Houston Juniors Volleyball Club from 2019-21, following a five-year stint as the director of Fort Bend Fire/Club Catalyst Volleyball in the Houston area.
From 2008-14, Nickel was the head coach at Wayne State University, an NCAA Division II school in Detroit. He guided the Warriors to a 94-78 record and five straight trips to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in his six seasons. There, he coached two All-Americans and seven all-region selections.
Nickel was the lead assistant coach at the University of Houston from 2002-08. Prior to that, he was the lead assistant coach at Illinois State University from 2000-02. Before his time in Normal, Illinois, where the Redbirds were among the nation’s leaders in attendance, he served two seasons as an assistant coach at Wright State University.
Before moving on to the NCAA Division I level, Nickel was the head coach at Thomas More College, an NCAA Division III institution in Crestview, Kentucky from 1996-98. His 1997 Saints team advanced to the second round of the NCAA DIII Tournament, and maintained the 15th highest attendance in the nation.
Nickel also coached club volleyball at Houston Junior Volleyball Club in 2006 and 2008. He was the head coach of the Texas Elite Volleyball Club in 2003. From 2001-02, he served as the assistant club director and head coach of Illinois Junior Volleyball Club in Bloomington, Illinois.
He has served on the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Advisory Committee, while also holding roles on the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Assistant Coaches Committee and as co-Chair of the Professional Development Sub-Committee. Nickel is a member of the AVCA. He's also served as a volunteer coach and run clinics in Detroit and Birmingham, Michigan, and Fort Bend County in the Greater Houston area.
Nickel earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 1995. He played for Cincinnati's men's club volleyball program.