Division I-II Coach of the Year | Division III Coach of the Year | NAIA Coach of the Year
2013 AVCA Division I-II Men's National Coaches of the Year
Chris McGown - Brigham Young University
Kevin Furnish - Ball State University
Lexington, Ky. (May 2, 2013) - TheAmerican Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce thatBrigham Young University head men's volleyball coach Chris McGown has beenselected as the 2013 AVCA Division I-II Men's National Coach of the Year, whileBall State assistant coach Kevin Furnish has been tabbed the AVCA Division I-IIMen's National Assistant Coach of the Year.
It has been a dream season for the Cougars led by McGown, as they enter theNCAA National Semifinals with a 25-4 record and the top seed playing No. 4 PennState University tonight at 8PM PDT. BYU has spent a total of 11 weeksranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll in addition to earning the No. 1 seed inthe MPSF Tournament. They went on to beat the University of Hawai’i thenLong Beach State University to capture their fourth MPSF Championship inprogram history, and McGown’s first since taking over the head coachingposition in June of 2011.
Since beginning the season at 7-3, BYU rattled off 12 victories in a row tosolidify themselves as the team to beat in the MPSF Conference. Sincetheir most recent loss to then-No. 3 UCLA on April 6, the Cougars have won fiveconsecutive matches.
McGown mentored three 2013 AVCA All-Americans, including Newcomer of the Yearand First-Team All-American Ben Patch. In addition to Patch, TaylorSander found himself on the first team for the second consecutive year and RussLavaja earned second team honors.
He holds a career record of 49-11 in just his second season as the head coach.
Furnish, now in his 14th year as the assistant coach, has been one of the keyfigures in Ball State’s success on and off the court. He is in charge ofteam defense. Since the most recent statistical rankings from the NCAA on April21, the Cardinals are ranked first in the country with 2.99 blocks per set and10.87 digs per set. Furnish’s middles were selected to the First andSecond Team All-MIVA.
The three-year Ball State letter-winner organizes the team’s community serviceprojects. These have included working for Habitat for Humanity, Second HarvestFood Bank and other community service organizations.
The AVCA will formally present both coaches their award at the 2013 jostensCoaches Honors Luncheon in Seattle, Washington on Thursday, December 19. The luncheon is held in conjunction with the 2013 AVCA Annual Convention.
2013 AVCA Division III Men's National Coaches of the Year
Cal Wickens - Nazareth College
Pat Shawaryn - Juniata College
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 26, 2013) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce that Nazareth College men's volleyball coach Cal Wickens has been selected as the 2013 AVCA Division III Men's National Coach of the Year, while Juniata College assistant coach, Pat Shawaryn, has been named the AVCA Division III Men's National Assistant Coach of the Year. This is Wickens' second honor in three years after winning it in 2011.
Coaching one of the best Division III programs in the country, Wickens once again led his Golden Flyers to a dominating season as they host the NCAA Tournament beginning today. They opened the season winning 31 consecutive matches, not losing until they faced then-No. 6 SUNY New Paltz in the final match of the regular season.
After starting the year at No. 6 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll, Nazareth reached a No. 2 ranking three polls later on February 12, and has not dipped below that second spot since, even ranking atop the nation four consecutive weeks from March 5-April 2. Nazareth currently is tops in the nation in assists per set (12.83) and kills per set (13.86) while ranking second in team hitting percentage (0.327).
With the 34-1 record leading up to the NCAA Tournament, Wickens is now 220-70 in his almost nine years coaching men's volleyball. He mentored three 2013 AVCA Men's Division III First-Team All-Americans and one Second-Team All-American, including National Player of the Year EJ Wells-Spicer.
Shawaryn, a 2004 Juniata graduate and four-time Juniata men's volleyball varsity letter winner, is now in his third season assisting head coach Kevin Moore. He serves as the program's lead recruiting coordinator, is responsible for training the passers, and prepares defensive scouting reports and schemes for opponents. Under his guidance, the Eagles clinched their first NCAA Tournament berth when they swept UC Santa Cruz to win the Continental Volleyball Conference Tournament.
The AVCA will formally present both coaches their award at the 2013 Jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Seattle, Washington on Thursday, December 19. The luncheon is held in conjunction with the 2013 AVCA Annual Convention.
2013 AVCA NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year
Trevor Johnson - Concordia University Irvine
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2013) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce that Concordia University Irvine Head Coach Trevor Johnson has been selected as the AVCA NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year.
In his first year as the head men's volleyball coach, Johnson directed the Eagles to an overall record of 21-7 and an appearance in the program's first ever NAIA Men's Volleyball National Invitational Tournament Championship presented by Tachikara. They enter as the overall No. 2 seed and the top seed in Pool B, where they defeated St. Ambrose and Missouri Baptist to head to the national semifinals.
In Concordia-Irvine's first year competing in the MAMVIC National Conference, they went a perfect 3-0 in the regular season before winning all four matches at the National Conference Tournament. After starting the season ranked seventh in the NAIA national poll, they reached a No. 1 ranking on March 25th and are currently ranked second behind Park University.
The Eagles proved this year they are one of the elite offensive teams in the nation. Junior Kevin Fiske was voted the National Conference Setter of the Year while junior opposite Naseri Tumanuvao and junior middle blocker Brett Anema were both voted First-Team All-Conference. Fiske averages 9.37 assists per set, setting Tumanuvao who averages 3.40 kills per set while Anema was a constant in the middle, leading the team in sets played (108) and second in total blocks (76). Johnson coached two 2013 AVCA NAIA All-Americans in Tumanuvao and middle blocker Mark Metrakos (106 total blocks). Concordia-Irvine joins Park as the only two schools with multiple AVCA NAIA All-Americans.
Before joining the men's team, the player-turned-coach served as the top assistant for the Concordia women's team that finished as a runner-up at the 2011 NAIA National Championship. In 2012, Johnson was selected as an AVCA Thirty Under 30 recipient that honors the top 30 coaches in the game who are 30 years old or younger. He was a four-year starter from 2002-2005 at the now Division II California Baptist, graduating as the program leader in assists (3,820). He later returned to the Lancers in a coaching capacity and helped Blair Penner break his record in 2011 (4,065).
The AVCA will formally present Johnson his award at the 2013 jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Seattle, Washington on Thursday, December 19. The luncheon is held in conjunction with the 2013 AVCA Annual Convention.
