Hinton Named Fountain Valley Girls’ Volleyball Coach

Mike Hinton, who coached Lakewood St. Joseph to the State Division I girls’ volleyball finals last season, has been named coach at Fountain Valley High School.

Hinton has a 53-8 record in three seasons at St. Joseph, including a 25-1 Angelus League record. His teams won league titles in each of his years as coach.

He was named the 1991 Southern Section 5-A coach of the year after guiding the Jesters to an 18-2 record and the State Division I finals, where they lost to El Toro.

Hinton said his decision to leave St. Joseph wasn’t an easy one.

“It’s money,” he said. “Fountain Valley can pay a little more than St. Joseph, and the challenge of building another program is enticing.”

Hinton, 32, becomes Fountain Valley’s third coach in four years. He replaces Misty Sano, who moved to Utah with her husband, Jim Huffman, the former Cal State Fullerton women’s volleyball coach.

Jeff Vanderwal, who led Huntington Beach to its second consecutive Sunset League title this season, has orally committed to UC Santa Barbara.

Vanderwal, a 6-foot-5 middle blocker who averaged 14 kills a match this season, chose UCSB over Pepperdine.