Bio

Mark Cruz is a local product of the Antelope Valley and a graduate of AVC. He started playing volleyball for Juniper Intermediate School in Palmdale, CA. He then went on to play at Highland High School also in Palmdale, where they won the Golden League in 1994 and 1995 as well as becoming a CIF Finalist in 1994 and a CIF Quarter-Finalist in 1995. In 1998 and 1999, Mark commuted to play down at LA Pierce College, Woodland Hills, CA, where he played 2 seasons winning a pair of the West Coast Conference Titles as well as becoming a State Semi-finalist in 1998 and State Finalist in 1999. 

He started his coaching career at Juniper in the fall of 1995 where his boy’s team won the High Desert League Title without dropping a set. He then continued coaching the girl’s freshmen and assisted the varsity program at Highland High School from the Fall of 1996 to the Fall of 1999 where they won the Golden League Title 3 out of his 4 years as Freshmen Head Coach as well as won all 4 Golden League Titles as the Varsity Assistant. He also coached the Golden League Winning Highland Boys Varsity Team that did not drop a set in the Spring of 2000 in the Golden League. Mark became the Head Coach for Hart High School's Freshmen Girls Team from 2000 to 2001 where both teams won the Foothill Conference Titles. He then became the Head Coach for the Girls Varsity Team at Hart High School in the Fall of 2002 where they made CIF Playoffs. Besides coaching high school, Mark has been coaching the Antelope Valley College Summer Volleyball Camps since the Summer of 1996. Mark also went on to become the Assistant Coach for The University of Southern California Men's Volleyball Program for the seasons of 2003 and 2004. Mark became the team's manager for both the 2005 and 2006 seasons so that he could finish his Bachelor's Degree as well as start Revolution Volleyball Club of the Antelope Valley.

Mark also acted as the Co-founder, Co-director, and Head Coach for Revolution Volleyball Club, Mark coached both girls and boys for Santa Clarita Athletic Club, Synergy Volleyball Club, and Santa Monica Beach Club from 2000 to 2004. In 2014, Mark started up Aero Volleyball. Besides the coaching positions, Mark was also the Athletic Director and PE Teacher for Bethel Christian School from 2005 to 2013. Mark finally was picked up as the Assistant Coach under Jane Cwayna in the Summer of 2008. Mark has been a member of the Antelope Valley College Women's Volleyball Teams that won the Foothill Conference Championships in 2009, 2011, and 2012.

Mark earned his Associates's Degree in Liberal Arts from Antelope Valley College. He earned his Bachelors's Degree in Liberal Studies from The Master's College and Seminary. Mark also earned his Master's Degree in Education from The University of Phoenix. Most recently, Mark earned his Master's Degree in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University. During the summers of 2013 through 2015, Mark was given the opportunity to work with TEAM USA with both the Women’s and Men’s Olympic Squads. Mark was hired at Antelope Valley College as the Head Volleyball Coach in the Summer of 2013 and was also named as the Head Sand Volleyball Coach in the Fall of 2014. During the years of Sand Volleyball, AVC was able to qualify for the State Championships 3 out of the 5 years of Sand Volleyball existence at AVC. In 2016, Mark has been hired on as a full-time instructor and just finally earned his tenure in the Spring of 2020.