Longtime coaches hoping to go out on top at Durango

Bob Kelly and Kelly O’Quinn first met in 1980 when Kelly, then the girls volleyball coach at Clark, ran a camp at Hyde Park Middle School.

“He introduced this 5-1 offense with one setter, and I was like, 'Wow, what’s that?’ ” said O’Quinn, who was the coach at Hyde Park at the time. “I went up to him and said, 'You should marry me so I can be Kelly Kelly.’ ”

And a legendary coaching duo was born.

In their time together, Kelly and O’Quinn have seen a marriage, the birth of their two sons — Christopher and Daniel — a divorce and a combined nine state titles in boys and girls volleyball at Clark and Durango. Through it all they have remained best friends.

But after nearly 30 years coaching side by side, Kelly and O’Quinn announced that this will be their last season coaching girls volleyball. Fittingly, it will end at the Class 4A state tournament as Sunset Region champion Durango (25-11) meets Northern Region runner-up Reno at 7 p.m. today at Damonte Ranch in Reno in the state semifinals.

Defending state champion Silverado (29-5) meets Northern Region champ Bishop Manogue at 8:40 p.m. in the other semifinal. The title match is at 4 p.m. Saturday.

“I don’t think anyone can imagine Las Vegas volleyball without including the influence of Coach Kelly,” said Shadow Ridge boys volleyball coach Christian Augustin, who played for the duo at Durango. “Their coaching had an impact not only on the great players but everyone they taught and coached who were lucky enough to be a part of their program.”

A California native, Kelly began at Clark in 1978 and, with O’Quinn assisting, led the Chargers to the first of their five state titles in 1981. Their 1989 squad featured future Olympian Charlene Johnson-Tagaloa, and his final two teams went a combined 56-1.

In 1993, Kelly and O’Quinn moved to Durango and continued working together even after their divorce — O’Quinn took some time off to be a mom before returning in 1996. By 1997, the two had led Durango to a state title. The Trailblazers also won the 1999 boys state crown. Durango’s 2002 and 2003 girls teams lost only one set to a team from Nevada and won back-to-back state crowns.

“It’s been a good split,” said Kelly, who has amassed more than 900 wins. “We don’t tread on each other’s territory. I do the physical training.”

“And I do everything else,” O’Quinn said, completing the thought.

Kelly also helped found the Nevada Jrs. Volleyball Association club program in 1984, winning Junior Olympic championships in 1988 and 1990, as well as three Festival Championships in 1989, 1990, and 1991. Kelly was awarded the USVBA National Coach of the Year in 1990 and coached for USA Volleyball from 1998 to 2003 as an assistant with the Youth National Team and head coach for the Junior National Team.

“Bob is very famous,” O’Quinn said. “He’s more famous outside of Las Vegas than in Las Vegas.”

Last season, the Trailblazers advanced to the state title match before falling to Silverado. Kelly retired from the Clark County School District after 31 years, but the tandem stayed together for this season with O’Quinn officially the head coach and Kelly a volunteer assistant.

Durango returned 6-foot-6-inch Hayley Spelman, a Stanford recruit, but little experience otherwise.

“There’s not another coach in the state who could have done with that team what Bob Kelly and Kelly O’Quinn did with that team, end of story, period,” said Green Valley coach Erin Hill, a high school teammate of O’Quinn’s at Valley. “They bring so much to the table. Everything they stood for and their impact, it’s like MasterCard: It’s priceless.”

Now, the Trailblazers have one more chance at a state crown and the opportunity to send Kelly and O’Quinn off on a high note.

“They push you no matter who you are, and they push you until you get it right, and that’s what makes them good coaches,” Spelman said. “It’s really sad. I’m just happy that we can go out this way.”