2/24/26
HARRISONBURG, Va. It took three-plus seasons of building something from the ground up in the Shenandoah Valley, but Omar Hoyos has now won 50 matches as the head coach of Eastern Mennonite University men’s volleyball. The milestone, reached this week during the 2026 campaign, marks a significant chapter for a program that has grown considerably under his direction, and for a coach who has poured his Puerto Rican volleyball roots and decades of mentoring experience into making the Royals competitive.
Hoyos, whose full surname is Hoyos Aliff, was born and raised in Puerto Rico and earned a degree in Liberal Arts and Political Science from Interamerican University in San Juan in 1996. His path to Harrisonburg wound through gyms across the island and eventually the state of Florida. He spent years coaching both boys and girls programs at Wesleyan Academy and Notre Dame High School in Puerto Rico, developing a reputation as a builder of young athletes and a connector of talent to college opportunities. By his own account, he has guided players to programs at all three NCAA division levels throughout his coaching career.
His stateside profile rose when he took over the girls varsity program at Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Florida. He delivered back-to-back district championships and consecutive regional semi-final appearances in 2020 and 2021, results that caught the attention of the EMU athletics department. In November 2022, he was introduced as the program’s 11th head coach in its history, becoming the first to bring a distinctly international volleyball pedigree to the role.
His first full season with the Royals was 2023, and the wins began to accumulate. The 2025 season was a landmark one for the program writ large: EMU competed in the inaugural ODAC Men’s Volleyball season after years in the Continental Volleyball Conference. The Royals went 8-4 in conference play to earn the third seed in the ODAC Tournament, a meaningful achievement for a program finding its footing in a new league landscape.
Now in his fourth season, Hoyos is coaching a squad loaded with continuity and talent. All-ODAC performers Daeman Odom, one of the top blockers in all of NCAA Division III a year ago, and Jose Melendez, who spent the summer competing with the Puerto Rican U21 National Team, anchor the middle. Derek Diaz has been a standout on the attack, racking up a team leading 109 kills over 41 sets played. Setter Ricky Fernandez, also an All-ODAC honoree, returns to run the offense, while defensive stalwarts Rey De La Cruz and Sebastian Clemente bring experience to the back row. The 2026 Royals are 7-6 currently and are sporting a 4 game win streak. They are 3-0 in ODAC conference play.
Win number 50 at EMU is the byproduct of a culture Hoyos has steadily constructed since arriving on campus, one match at a time, one recruit at a time. For a coach who has dedicated his adult life to helping young men and women reach their dreams through sport, it is a number worth pausing to recognize. The next 50 are already in the making.