2006 Tachikara/AVCA Two-Year
College Region Coaches of the YearSM for Women's Volleyball Announced
Lexington, Ky
(Dec. 5, 2006) -
The following
coaches have been selected by their region as the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA Two-Year
College Region Coach of the Year. Each of the honorees will represent their
region on the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA National Coach of the Year ballot. The awards
will be officially presented at the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year and
Victory Club Awards banquet in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the 2006
American Volleyball Coaches Association Annual Convention.
Tachikara/AVCA Two-Year College
Northeast-Southeast Region Coaches of the YearSM
Gene Doorley led Alfred State College to their best season since
they won the Region III Championship in 1977. After beginning the season with
22 consecutive wins, the Blue and Gold were ranked as high as No. 5 in the NJCAA
Division III poll. Alfred State ended the 2006 campaign with a 32-3 record
(30-2 in Region III Division III play), finishing Reg. III runners-up (playing
without injured Reg. III, DIII Player of the Year Brianne McMahon). Doorley’s
record at Alfred State is now 70-49 in four seasons.
Kim Whitney, Pasco-Hernando Community
College
2006 Record:
28-9
NJCAA Division I
In her third season at the helm of Pasco-Hernando
Community College, Kim Whitney’s team was nationally ranked in the Top 20 again,
coming in at No. 9 in the final poll. After winning the conference regular
season, the Lady Conquistadors went 1-2 in the Florida Community College
Activities Association Tournament, finishing their season at 28-9. Whitney is
now 90-32 in her three seasons at Pasco-Hernando.
Tachikara/AVCA Two-Year College Midwest
Region Coaches of the YearSM
Terry Gamble, Iowa Western Community
College
2006 Record:
60-4
NJCAA Division I
In just his second season as head coach of Iowa
Western Community College, Terry Gamble led the Lady Reivers to their first
NJCAA Division I Championship in 2006. Their 60 wins is a program record, up
from last year’s 45; all 60 wins this season were by virtue of a sweep. After
entering the Championship Tournament ranked No. 3, and with the No. 3 seed in
the tournament, IWCC won four consecutive matches, including defeating
top-ranked Western Nebraska CC in the finals.
Ron Sweet, Kishwaukee Community College
2006 Record:
50-3
NJCAA Division II
Ron Sweet led Kishwaukee
Community College to their third NJCAA Division II national title in the last
six years in 2006. After entering the tournament as the No. 2 overall seed, the
Kougars went 4-0 in the championship competition, including sweeping top-seeded
Chandler-Gilbert in the finals. The Kougars’ championship run was set up by a
30-1 record in the final two months of the season, including being victorious in
every single game since Sept. 29, and winning a ninth straight Arrowhead
Conference title and seventh consecutive NJCAA Division II Region IV
championship.
Tachikara/AVCA Two
Year College Southwest Region Coaches of the YearSM
Le Valley Pattison, El Camino College
2006 Record:
25-2
Community College League of California
Now in her sixteenth season as head coach, Le Valley
Pattison led El Camino College to a 25-2 record in 2006, and a South Coast
Conference Championship. El Camino entered the Southern California Regional
Playoffs as the No. 1 seed, ranked No. 2 in the California Community College
Women’s Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. The Lady Warriors advanced to the
quarterfinals of the COA Women’s Volleyball Championship, where they fell to
eventual national runner-up LA Pierce.
David Rehr, Blinn College
2006 Record:
34-4
NJCAA Division I
After being unranked in the 2006 NJCAA Division I
preseason poll, David Rehr led his Blinn College team to No. 4 in the final
national rankings. The Buccaneers went undefeated in a conference where four
teams were ranked in the top twenty this season. In Blinn’s fourth-consecutive
trip to the NJCAA Division I Championship Tournament, they finished the
competition 3-1, good for fifth place, with their only loss coming at the hands
of eventual-champion Iowa Western. The fifth place finish in the national
tournament is the best in school history.
Tachikara/AVCA Two Year College West Region
Coaches of the YearSM
Christopher Green, Western Nebraska
Community College
2006 Record:
56-2
NJCAA Division I
Christopher Green led Western Nebraska Community
College to a 56-2 record in 2006. The Lady Cougars were No. 1 in the nation for
seven straight weeks, and won their sub-regional and regional for the eighth
consecutive year. They entered the NJCAA Division I Championship Tournament as
the No. 1 seed, and No. 1 team in the nation. WNCC advanced all the way to the
finals of the tournament, falling in three games in the championship match to
Iowa Western. Their national runner-up finish is the best in school history.
Bret Taylor, North Idaho College
2006 Record:
36-8
NJCAA Division I
Following a Scenic West Athletic Conference co-championship last
season, Bret Taylor’s North Idaho Cardinals won the championship outright this
season with a 10-2 record. They also won the Region 18A championship, advancing
them to the NJCAA Division I Championships. The Cardinals took a 34-6 overall
record and No. 8 ranking into the championships. NIC went 2-2 in the post
season tournament, losing in the third-place match, and taking home fourth
place.
