Madonna University Head Coach Jerry Abraham Named
2005 Tachikara/AVCA NAIA National Coach of The Year^SM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 15, 2005) – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), in conjunction with Tachikara USA, Inc, is proud to announce that Madonna University Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Jerry Abraham has been selected as the 2005 Tachikara/AVCA NAIA National Coach of the Year^SM.

Abraham led Madonna to a 48-2 record and an appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Semifinal for the second time in school history. The Crusaders entered the national tournament as the third seed with a 44-0 record as they dropped only five games during the regular season and regional tournament. Madonna finished NAIA Volleyball National Championship pool play with a 3-1 mark to advance to the quarterfinals. The Crusaders advanced to the semifinal round with a 3-1 win over Texas Wesleyan University. Madonna’s season came to an end with a 3-1 loss to eventual tournament champion California Baptist University.

In his 19 seasons at the school, Abraham has posted a 773-199 career record as Madonna has never finished below .500 and has averaged over 40 wins per year. Under Abraham’s guidance, eight Crusader squads have advanced to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. Madonna has also been ranked in the NAIA Top 25 at some point during every season since 1993.

Tachikara formally presented the AVCA NAIA National Coach of the Year^SM award on Dec. 15 in San Antonio at the Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year and Victory Club Awards^SM banquet. The brunch was held in conjunction with the 2005 AVCA Annual Convention.

Tachikara can be found on the world wide web at www.tachikara.com.