New clues have emerged in the mysterious death of a star San Diego volleyball player found dead in the ocean at a popular beach.<\/p>\n
Summer Nash, 34, was discovered floating in the water near Ocean Beach Pier<\/a> on June 18 by lifeguards who recovered her body and pronounced her dead at the scene, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n The cause of the top athlete\u2019s death remains under investigation.<\/p>\n Nash was found dead in the water at San Diego\u2019s Ocean Beach. San Diego State University Athletics<\/p>\n Nash was wearing a bikini and long sleeve shirt when her lifeless corpse was found washed up near shore on the south side of Ocean Beach Pier, a spokesperson for the Medical Examiner revealed Thursday.<\/p>\n The spokesperson said the Medical Examiner may take months to determine how Nash died. Nash\u2019s friends said she was a strong swimmer who was learning to surf.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t clear if a surfboard was found with Nash\u2019s body or if she were surfing at the time of her death.<\/p>\n Nash was an accomplished volleyball player and a fixture on SoCal beaches. FIU<\/p>\n The powerful Pacific ocean swells that claimed the lives of beach-goers in Laguna <\/a>and Santa Cruz<\/a> were still pounding California beaches<\/a> on the day Nash died.<\/p>\n Nash\u2019s body was found near the seawall south of Ocean Beach Pier, where the strong currents from a popular surf break there push seashells ashore.<\/p>\n Nash was an accomplished volleyball player who played for San Diego State<\/a>\u00a0and Florida International universities before transitioning into coaching roles for lauded volleyball programs at Florida State and Stanford universities.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n She enjoyed a successful career in college sports. FIU<\/p>\n Nash appeared to have last coached at Stanford during the 2022-23 season.<\/p>\n Now, as friends and loved ones grapple with her sudden death, questions are swirling about what happened.<\/p>\n Deitre Collins, Nash\u2019s longtime friend and head coach at SDSU, told The California Post that loved ones are buzzing with speculation over how she may have died.<\/p>\n \u201cI just hope foul play wasn\u2019t involved,\u201d said Collins.<\/p>\n Collins said Nash was an integral member of SDSU\u2019s championship volleyball team and was beloved by every player she shared the court with.<\/p>\n After years of competing, Nash transitioned to coaching volleyball. FIU<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing in terms of the number of people who have come out to just talk about what a special human being she was,\u201d said Collins of Nash. \u201cShe deserves all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Olson, executive director of San Diego\u2019s WAVE Beach Volleyball club, told The Post he worked with Nash for years.<\/p>\n He called her a \u201cwonderful coach\u201d for the club\u00a0volleyball organization<\/a>\u00a0and \u201cone of the nicest people I\u2019ve ever met in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Olson described Nash as a very physical player who could \u201chit the snot out of the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople didn\u2019t serve her because they were scared of her physicality and her ability to crush the ball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> Her body was found near Ocean Beach pier. mdurson \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n After her college sports career Nash transitioned to coaching beach volleyball and in recent years began to practice surfing at the SoCal beaches she considered home.<\/p>\n Olson said he took her surfing several years ago, but she had a \u201crough outing.\u201d Still, he wasn\u2019t surprised that she threw herself into the sport.<\/p>\n San Diego volleyball coach Nicholas Mercer said some of Nash\u2019s friends have speculated that she died in a surfing accident.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last time I talked to Summer, a few months ago, she said she was learning surfing,\u201d said Mercer, who coached Nash on the pro volleyball circuit and said she was his best friend.<\/p>\n Mercer said members of Nash\u2019s family are planning a private ceremony to celebrate her life, while her friends from the beach are working on a public tribute.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get a celebration going for her friends,\u201d said Mercer.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t
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