2025 Hall of Fame Class: Carson Clark

MAN OF STEEL

There are few people in the history of UC Irvine Athletics that have had a career like Carson Clark. He started his career with a national championship in 2009 then capped it with another as a senior in 2012.

When recruiting came down to USC and UC Irvine, the power of the Anteater culture prevailed. An invitation from Anthony Spittle to spend the weekend in Newport beach led to a conversation with Nick Spittle about the pros of playing at UCI. That weekend plus the annual Midnight Magic event sealed the deal.   

“I remember thinking you can play volleyball and live in this area. I loved the guys, the environment was awesome, so it was pretty easy when guys that I really respected like Paul Spittle were telling me things. I felt very good with my choice. It's a blue-collar kind of volleyball. It’s all about the group of guys you surround yourself with.”

That was just the first of the many wins UC Irvine would have over USC in Clark’s career. 

An injury kept Clark on the sideline his first year, giving him a chance to watch and learn without any of the pressure.

In 2009, the redshirt freshman made an immediate impact opening the season earning UCSB Invitational All-Tournament honors after helping UCI knock off second-ranked UCLA with five aces.

The Anteaters were blessed with several left-handed options. He joined senior All-American Jon Steller in leading UCI throughout the season whether Clark was starting or coming off the bench.  

“I would always check with (Ryan) Ammerman to see if I was starting. I never took it for granted and was willing to do what the team needed. I looked up to Steller on and off the court. It reinforced lefties do really well in the UCI program.”

A New University story titled A Bird? A Plane? No, It’s Carson compared the freshman to the Man of Steel, dubbing him Carson Clark - Kent. The analogy was spot on as he soared through the air for a kill or flew over the press row tables for a dig. A cult following formed wearing capes at matches.

The Anteaters would start the year 12-2, riding an eight-match winning streak before being upended by Pepperdine, 3-1. Another seven in row would help UCI capture its second Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season title with a 19-3 mark after being selected fifth in the Preseason Coaches’ poll.

Clark would be tabbed MPSF Newcomer of the Year and joined Brent Asuka as the only two Anteaters to be named first-team all-conference in their first year.

The Anteaters were the No. 1 team for seven weeks of the season and hosted the MPSF Championship as the top team in the land facing USC in the semifinals.

The Trojan celebration after a 3-0 sweep of the Anteaters would be ingrained into Clark’s memory.

“We weren’t losing to them again. It was the chip on our shoulder that we needed. It was great motivation to never feel that feeling again.”

UC Irvine would head into the NCAA Championship at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, UT still ranked No. 1 even after the loss.

Clark would lead UCI with 12 kills in the semifinal against Ohio State then added 15 kills in the epic 3-2 victory (26-30, 30-23, 26-30, 30-17, 15-12) over USC in the title match in front of a wild UCI cheering section. Clark would earn all-tournament team accolades and garner second team All-America recognition.

“We are so lucky down in Newport that all of the student-athletes bonded really well. The crowd got their players out of the game. Ultimately, I would give our fans credit for winning that championship and Ammo (Ryan Ammerman) of course played amazing. Also, our bench was ready to go and if any of those things didn’t happen, I don’t know if we win.” 

UC Irvine ended the year 27-5 overall, the second most wins in school history. Clark would lead the Anteaters with a 3.90 kills and 4.51 points per set average, eighth best in both categories that year.

UCI would go 15-15 the next season, losing nine five-set matches. They would knock off four teams ranked in the nation’s top five, including No. 1 CSUN at home. Clark led the nation with 50 service aces, which was a UCI record and finished third in the country in kills 5.04 and points 5.81.

In 2011, UCI would end the year ranked 19-12 and fourth in the country. After starting the year 6-8, the Anteaters would win 13-4 down the stretch, falling to rival and then-No. 1 USC, 3-1 in the MPSF semifinals. He continued to be a menace at the service line firing 47, second most in the record books. His career-high 35 kills against Pepperdine would be tied for third most in a match at UCI.

“It was hard. You have these expectations of being national champions. You’re going to have growing pains when you lose seniors. I had to learn how to be a better teammate and get those guys going while still holding my own. Those were learning experiences.”

He would earn All-American and first-team MPSF status both sophomore and junior seasons.

Playing with Team USA started in 2011, changing his perspective, not only on the court, but off.

“I had to learn to balance life with starting to act like a professional. There was lot of growing up for sure.” 

Training with the national team helped him get to the ball faster and made him realize how much more he had in his game to unlock. The summer before his senior year he also trained at Peak Performance Project (P3) in Santa Barbara adding nine inches to his vertical.

Heading into his final season, Clark had an offer to play professionally in Korea but chose to finish out his collegiate career in Irvine.

Bolstered by the addition of outside hitter Kevin Tillie, the Anteaters once again rose to the top of the rankings for four weeks, stringing together a 10-match winning during the season.

UCI would finish in a three-way tie for second in the MPSF standings at 17-5, but due to tiebreakers would be the fourth seed and have to face No. 1 USC at the Galen Center in an MPSF semifinal contest. UCI’s only road loss of the season had been a 3-1 defeat against the Trojans on Apr. 7.

Never taking the easy way, UCI would have to battle back from two sets down to beat both No. 1 seed USC and No. 2 seed Stanford to capture a third MPSF title. Clark was named MPSF Most Outstanding Player after tallying 14 kills, three aces, eight digs and four blocks versus the Trojans and 19 kills and five blocks against the Cardinal in the Championship.

“We had some grit on that team. Nobody was worried whatsoever when we were down 0-2. We just thought, ok let’s go win in five. That year of losing all of those five- set matches helped us.”

After beating Penn State, 3-1 in the first round of the NCAAs held at the Galen Center, UCI faced a familiar foe across the net - No. 1 USC. The Anteaters would sweep USC 3-0, winning an important second set 34-32 behind 10 kills from Clark, including the set-winner. The opposite would be named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championship after recording a match-high 22 kills and three service aces versus the Trojans. There couldn’t be a better ending to his collegiate career.

Clark would be named first team All-MPSF, the first player to ever be named to the first-team all four years and would make UCI history being named All-America all four years. The lefty would end his career as UCI’s leader in kills (1,861), attack attempts (4,042) and aces (183). He bettered his own school record with 61 aces.

Clark had put himself on the international stage as a junior, but his senior year he’d become a complete player.

“Looking back, serving wasn’t a thing I focused on. When we weren’t passing well, I couldn’t hit or attack, so I tried to figure out how could I impose my will on the game. I wish I would have focused on it sooner.”

In the first match of the 2025 season, Clark's career ace record was broken by UCI’s current lefty, Hilir Henno. Clark is impressed and happy he broke his record.

“That kid is insane. His volleyball IQ is unbelievable. It’s great to see what he has done for the team and you always like rooting for a lefty. His ball control is so impressive and really fun to watch.”

Clark would continue to play and train with the U.S. National Team and go on to a professional career, playing in France, Poland, Greece and India before retiring in 2020.

He is now coaching two girls teams and is the technical director at The Sports Academy and is the head boys’ volleyball coach at Notre Dame High School.

Even with all of the accolades Clark maintains his California cool demeanor. Never wanting to be the center of attention, always deflecting his accomplishments for those of the collective team.

“It’s all about the team. The Hall of Fame is exciting and a huge honor, but I wouldn’t be here without the guys.” 

Another superpower of Clark’s was balancing life and volleyball to avoid burnout. Mixing in fun and adventure made his college experience a good one and cemented his decision to come to UCI was the right one.