COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), in conjunction with Tachikara USA, Inc, is proud to announce that Larry Bock from Juniata College has been selected as the 2004 Tachikara/AVCA Division III National Coach of the Year. This the fourth time Bock has received this honor. He also received the award in 1984, 1989 and 1993.

Bock led Juniata to its first NCAA Division III National Championship title in program history, sweeping Washington University of St. Louis, the 2003 NCAA Division III Champions. Before reaching the finals, Juniata defeated New York University, which ended Juniata’s 2003 undefeated season in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals. Bock led the 2004 Eagles to a 37-3 record and its 24th straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. Juniata also extended its conference win streak to 270 consecutive victories. The last time Juniata dropped a conference match was on Nov. 8, 1981, against Gettysburg. Overall, Juniata has made it to the national semifinals 19 times and has reached the finals five times in Bock’s career.

This season held many firsts for the Juniata program, beyond obtaining its first national title. Carli Dale became Juniata’s all-time career assist leader and the program’s first AVCA Division III National Player of the Year. Bock reached his 1,000th-career win against NCAA Division II Shippensburg on Sept. 10, 2004, making him the first NCAA women’s volleyball coach to reach the milestone. He is the winningest coach in NCAA women’s volleyball with a career record of 1,032-169 in his 28-year tenure at Juniata.

Juniata placed three players on the 2004 AVCA All-America teams this season giving Bock 29 players who have earned AVCA All-America honors, the most of any NCAA institution. Juniata has received 47 AVCA All-America certificates, second to only Washington University.

Bock has a long resume of achievements in the volleyball community. He is a member of the AVCA Hall of Fame inaugural class inducted in 2003. Bock has been the Tachikara/AVCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year on 10 occasions. Juniata has been the top-ranked school in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll 35 times, the second most in poll history. The Eagles have been ranked in every poll since the poll’s inception in 1992.

A 1971 graduate of Penn State University, Bock assumed the Juniata men’s volleyball head coach position for six seasons from 1990 to 1995. He posted three winning seasons and earned EIVA Division III titles in 1992, 1993, and 1994. Bock has been Juniata’s director of athletics since 1995.

Tachikara will formally present the AVCA Division III National Coach of the Year award on Dec. 16 in Long Beach, Calif., at the Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year and Victory Club Awards banquet. The brunch is held in conjunction with the 2004 AVCA Annual Convention.