Serving Up Success
Written by Doug Goodnough
Kim Argiri-Slone, ’90, could have gone to several larger colleges to play volleyball. But when Hillsdale College offered her the opportunity to play both volleyball and softball at the collegiate level, she took it. More than 30 years later, the hall of fame high school volleyball coach said attending Hillsdale was absolutely the right decision.
“Being a small school, I wouldn’t have gone anywhere else,” said Argiri-Slone, who is currently the varsity volleyball coach at Fraser (Michigan) High School. “I like the smallness of Hillsdale. I still have lifelong relationships with the girls I played with.”
As a highly regarded outside hitter, she was one of the top recruits for a Hillsdale program that was trying to find its footing in the competitive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Although the Chargers didn’t have any championship seasons during her time, Argiri-Slone, a four-year starter, said the athletic experience at Hillsdale was memorable.
“The teammates, they are your family when you come in,” she said. “You build relationships, and I still talk to those people today. There were some good, fun times.”
After graduation, the education major said she knew that coaching and teaching was her calling.
Eventually she made her way back to her high school alma mater, Fraser, to become the varsity volleyball coach and elementary Spanish teacher. Her teams rattled off nine consecutive district titles under her leadership, and won back-to-back state championships in 2003 and 2004. After her daughter, Paige, was born, she stepped away from coaching for nearly a decade. In 2016, she returned to coaching, and has recently guided Fraser to league and district titles.
In fact, she was inducted into the Macomb County Coaches Hall of Fame last spring, and has nearly 600 career coaching victories. Argiri-Slone has coached several student-athletes who have gone on to play collegiately at the highest levels, including programs such as Florida and Penn State.
Her daughter, a standout volleyball player, will be a senior this year, and Argiri-Slone said she is looking forward to coaching her. She also is following her son Brady’s basketball career. He will be a high school freshman in the fall.
She said she still follows the Hillsdale program, and Charger Volleyball Head Coach Chris Gravel recently spoke at her camp.
“I just love the longevity and consistency of the program, and what he has done overall is amazing,” Argiri-Slone said of Gravel.
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in November 2022