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Hall of Fame Volleyball Coach Sonny Lewis Dies

Sonny Lewis led the Owens Express volleyball team to three national titles and 19 OCCAC championships.

Sonny Lewis received an award from Owens president Dr. Dione D. Somerville, center, and Express athletics director Shelley Whitaker

Sonny Lewis won 807 games at Owens

Sonny Lewis started at Owens in 2001 after a successful career coaching at Holland Springfield High School

The annual Labor Day volleyball tournament at Owens was renamed the Sonny Lewis Classic in 2025

 

 

Former Owens Community College volleyball coach Sonny Lewis, who guided the Express to three national championships and 807 wins in 24 seasons, died on Wednesday, Nov. 11. He was 77 years old.

Lewis came to Owens in 2001 and his teams went 807-240 with three NJCAA national titles in 2018, 2019 and 2021, with three other top-4 finishes in 12 national tournament appearances. In the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference, his teams compiled an extraordinary 291-12 record and captured 19 conference titles.

“Sonny Lewis left a lasting mark on the college that went beyond the volleyball court,” said Dr. Dione D. Somerville, president of Owens Community College. “He cared deeply about his student-athletes, and you could see that care in everything he did for our athletic department and the college as a whole.

“Sonny helped grow the reach of Owens across our region, and his influence will be felt here for years to come. Our hearts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”

Lewis, who retired in September 2025, was named the OCCAC Coach of the Year 12 times and national coach of the year four times.

He served on the NJCAA Hall of Fame committee, as president and vice president of the NJCAA Coaches Association, on the NJCAA Coach of the Year and Player of the Year committee, and as a two-year college committee member for the AVCA.

Lewis was inducted into the NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2022, and he was named to the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award list in 2025.

He came to Owens after a successful run at Springfield High School, amassing 373 wins from 1979-2000. His teams won 15 sectional titles, six district titles, seven Northern Lakes League championships and appeared in two state semifinals.

He was named the NLL Coach of the Year seven times, the District 7 Coach of the Year six times, and the OHSAA Coach of the Year twice. He was also once named the National Federation of Interscholastic Coaches Association Coach of the Year. He’s a member of the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and Springfield High School Hall of Fame.

To honor Lewis, the annual volleyball tournament hosted by Owens over Labor Day was renamed to the Sonny Lewis Classic in 2025.