ALL-AMERICA | ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA | STATISTICAL ARCHIVE

With a Division III-record nine national championships and 18 University Athletic Association championships--including 16 straight titles from 1989-2004--the Washington University volleyball program has built itself into one of the most successful programs in Division III history.

Current head coach Rich Luenneman took over the reins nine years ago after 18 seasons at the University of St. Francis (Ill.) and has returned Washington U. to the top of Division III. In 2003, Luenemann led the Bears to the national championship -- the coach's first national title -- with a 3-0 sweep against UAA rival New York University. In 2007, Luenemann again guided the peak of the Division III volleyball world, winning his second national title, beating the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 3-2.

Luenemann has compiled a 314-41 (.885) overall record in nine seasons at the helm. During that span, the Bears have won seven UAA Championships while placing in the top-5 of the NCAA Tournament eight times, including runner-up finishes in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

One of the most storied programs in Division III history, WU owns an all-time record of 77-13 in NCAA Tournament play. The Bears' 77 wins rank as the second most in D-III Tournament history. WU is also 33-2 at home in postseason play.

Teri Clemens was hired by Washington University in August of 1985, and made good on her goal of bringing a NCAA championship to Washington University within five years. With her original recruiting class having matured into seniors, she led the Bears to the 1989 Division III title, the first in a century of Hilltop athletic history. Clemens then built a dynasty that extended itself to seven NCAA titles, including six in a row from 1991 to 1996. Clemens' 1992 squad that went 40-0 remains one of two undefeated national champions in Division III history.

Clemens, who retired at the end of the 1998 season after 14 seasons as head coach of the Bears, left the program as the winningest coach in NCAA volleyball history by winning percentage (529-77, .873).

In all, the Bears have received 14 UAA Player of the Year awards and 13 UAA Staff of the Year awards while producing a 239-5 (.980) record in 21 years of conference play. Washington University has also tallied nine American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III National Player of the Year awards, 101 AVCA All-America mentions, 79 all-Central and all-South Region honors and 111 all-UAA citations. Additionally, five student-athletes have earned seven Academic All-America awards.

Amy Albers (1994-95) and Shelley Swan (1995-96) won the Honda Award as the top female athlete in all sports in NCAA Division III.