Luenemann Named 2007 AVCA DIII National Coach of the Year

St. Louis, Mo., November 26, 2007 – Washington University volleyball head coach Rich Luenemann was named the 2007 Division III American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coach of the Year, as announced by the organization on Monday.

Luenemann led the 2007 Washington U. volleyball team to the NCAA Division III National Championship, defeating the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 3-2, in the title match.  The national title is the second of Luenemann’s career, he won his first championship in 2003.

“While this is certainly a prestigious award, the credit really goes to the players themselves,” Luenemann said.  “Our kids were not satisfied with our quality of play in mid-September, and they made the commitment necessary for us to become a team that was capable of challenging for a national title.”

Washington U. began the 2007 season ranked No. 4 in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, and was ranked No. 8 after starting the season with a 7-4 overall record.  However, before falling to Emory University in the University Athletic Association title match, WU won 20-consecutive matches, and ended the season by winning 26 of its last 27 contests, finishing with a mark of 33-5.

En route to the national title, Washington U. defeated five teams ranked in the AVCA top 15, and beat three schools it had lost to earlier in the season; including Emory University in the national quarterfinals, previously top-ranked and unbeaten Wittenberg University in the semifinals, and its foe in the championship match, UW-Whitewater.

Luenemann came to Washington University in 1999, after spending 18 years as the head volleyball coach at the University of St. Francis, where he won 590 matches.  Since starting at WU, he has posted a record of 314-41 (.885), and won the 900th match of his collegiate coaching career on Nov. 9, when the Bears defeated the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 3-2, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  In 27 years as a collegiate head coach, Luenemann has posted an overall record of 904-303 (.749).

The AVCA will present Luenemann with the National Coach of the Year award at the 2007 Jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 13.