Newman volleyball off to fast start under new coach Destiny Clark (+ video)

The two sides approached each other with understandable wariness.

On one side was Newman’s new volleyball coach, Destiny Clark, with all of two years experience as a coach – and none on the college level – taking over an NCAA Division II program.

On the other side were Newman’s players – a veteran group whose core had been around the block in the Heartland Conference a couple of times already and had big goals.

It’s funny how things work out sometimes.

"Winning, it seems like, fixes a lot of things," Clark said.

Winning has done more than fix things for Newman (12-4, 4-1 Heartland), which takes a surprise, 10-match winning streak and sole possession of second place in the Heartland into Thursday’s home match against St. Mary’s (3-9, 1-4).

The wins have also created an instant bond between Clark and her players. Clark took over at the beginning of May for Natalie Rawson, who left to become the coach at Midwestern State in March.

"There’s worry on both sides when you come in," said Clark, who played for Arkansas and spent the last two seasons as Collegiate’s coach. "But the beautiful thing about the win streak we’re on is that if there wasn’t buy-in before, there’s buy-in now."

That buy-in was made a lot easier because Rawson left the cupboard very, very full for Clark.

Leading the way are 5-foot-11 senior middle hitter Ashley Gonzalez,an All-Heartland pick in 2014 after leading Newman with 325 kills and 67 blocks, and senior setter Alexus Litts, an All-Heartland pick in 2013.

Gonzalez and Litts were teammates at Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College in 2012 and are each in their third season at Newman.

"(Gonzalez) is a freak athlete," Clark said. "And she fits really well into our new system, which is playing a little faster than they’ve played in the past.”

Gonzalez has won three straight Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week awards and leads the league with a .372 hitting percentage and 238 kills (4.26 per set).

“We were already united from playing the last two years together and that experience,” Gonzalez said. “Of course we’re all nervous because we didn’t know (Clark), but she has a strong plan. A lot of us want to prove a lot of people wrong.”

Litts has undergone knee surgery the last two seasons and leads the Heartland with 609 assists (10.68 per set).

“I think we were all really unsure about bringing in a new coach,” Litts said. “After we met (Clark) we were all excited because it’s obvious that she’s determined to make the team better.”

Newman hosts Texas A&M-International, which is tied for third place, on Saturday.

“We have to just keep in mind it’s a long season,” Clark said. “We are prepping one match, one team at a time. I have very high expectations of them, as do all the coaches on the staff. We voice that to them, and they understand that.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Newman volleyball off to fast start under new coach Destiny Clark (+ video)."