Knipe Named AVCA National Coach of the Year
LBSU is the First School to Have Two Different Coaches Earn this National Award
June 2, 2004 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Long Beach State men's volleyball head coach, Alan Knipe, was named as the 2004 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) / Tachikara National Men's Volleyball Coach of the Year, as announced by the organization on Wednesday. Long Beach State is the first school to have two different coaches earn this national award (former LBSU head coach Ray Ratelle won the award in 1991).
Knipe, in his fourth season at the helm of the 49ers, guided his team to a 28-7 (18-4 MPSF) record and a runner-up finish in the 2004 NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship. The 49ers ranked second for nine consecutive weeks in the 2004 USA Today/AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll, while being listed among the top five for 14 straight weeks. The Beach owned win streaks of seven matches twice during the season. LBSU won 14 of 15 matches in February and March.
The 49ers did not lose to a single unranked opponent in 2004, while Scott Touzinsky and David Lee, members of Knipe's 2000 recruiting class, earned AVCA All-America First-Team honors. Tyler Hildebrand also earned AVCA All-America First Team honors as a sophomore setter.
Long Beach State improved by 11 victories from last season, after finishing 17-13 (11-11 MPSF).
Knipe surpassed his personal-high victory total by 10 wins set during the 2000 season. He has compiled a 76-45 career record (.628 winning percentage). Knipe almost became the third individual in men's volleyball history to win a national championship as a player and coach. He was a two-time AVCA All-American, earning first-team honors as a senior middle blocker in 1992 after a second-team selection in 1991. He helped the 49ers to a NCAA national championship in 1991 as a junior.
Knipe will serve as the 2004 USA Volleyball Boys' Youth National Team head coach and has been a five-time director of the USA Development Camp. He was the United States Volleyball Player of the Year in 1993 and a member of the U.S. National Team after graduation from LBSU. He played two years professionally in Europe and participated on five USAV national championship teams.
Knipe, Ron Larsen (UC San Diego), Tom Peterson (Brigham Young) and Al Scates (UCLA) all advanced to the final Tachikara/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Coach of the Year ballot as they accumulated the top four point totals on the preliminary ballot of all AVCA-member Division I-II men's coaches.
Tachikara will formally present the AVCA Division I-II Men's National Coach of the Year award in Long Beach, Calif., at the Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year banquet. The brunch is held in conjunction with the 2004 AVCA Annual Convention. Tachikara can be found on the world wide web at www.tachikara.com.
Tachikara/AVCA Division I-II National Coach of the Year
2004: Alan Knipe, Long Beach State
2003: Dave Deuser, Lewis
2002: Mike Wilton, Hawai'i
2001: Carl McGown, BYU
2000: Peter Hanson, Ohio State
1999: Carl McGown, BYU
1998: Al Scates, UCLA
1997: Ruben Nieves, Stanford
1996: Al Scates, UCLA
1995: Don Shondell, Ball State
1994: Tom Peterson, Penn State
1993: Al Scates, UCLA
1992: Ruben Nieves, Stanford
1991: Ray Ratelle, Long Beach State |
