Western Oregon Hires Ex-Arizona State Coach

Brad Saindon, a former head coach at Arizona State and Colorado, has been named the new leader of the Western Oregon University volleyball team.

Saindon becomes the ninth head coach in the history of the program. He replaces Joe Houck, who resigned last month to become the head coach at the University of Portland .

Saindon, who has built or re-built programs at nearly every level of volleyball, was the head coach at Arizona State for the past five seasons before being fired in December.

He has also led programs at the University of Colorado and Regis College and has a collegiate record of 296-211. He also has served as the lead assistant for the USA men's national team, and has been the head coach of the Australian women's national and Olympic squads.

“We are extremely pleased to have Brad join our coaching staff,” WOU athletic director Jon Carey said. 

“He has considerable and varied volleyball coaching experience including Division II (Regis), Division I and at the international level. He has improved every program that he has been affiliated with.

“He will inherit an experienced group that has tasted success and we anticipate that Brad will build on last year's improvement and move our program to the top levels of our very difficult conference.”

Saindon's 2007 Sun Devil squad went 15-16, and the 2006 ASU team finished 16-15. The 2006squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The three seasons previous were spent in rebuilding mode on the Tempe campus, where the Sun Devil's play in the nation's toughest conference, the Pac-10.

The Colorado native (Wheat Ridge) coached for 11 seasons at the University of Colorado, taking the Buffaloes to two Sweet 16 appearances and six NCAA tournaments. His record at Colorado was 181-112, and he was named the Big Eight Coach of the Year three times.

He had two different stints with the USA volleyball team, and during his tenure with the Australian squad the Aussies climbed from a world ranking of No. 40 to No. 14 after placing ninth at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney .

Saindon also has experience coaching at the NCAA Division II level at Regis, where he was 63-28 in two seasons. He has coached at virtually every level of volleyball, including grassroots development clubs, junior high and high schools, elite club level, collegiate, national, international and Olympic levels.

A graduate of Arizona State in 1976, Saindon played on the ASU men's club volleyball squad, and later played on amateur and professional teams. He earned his master's degree in the scientific basis of sport from the University of Oklahoma in 1984, where he was an assistant coach for four seasons.

Seawolves Hire Nebraska JC Coach

Chris Green, who has spent the last nine years as the head coach at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Neb., has been hired as the sixth head coach in University of Alaska Anchorage volleyball history.

Green built a powerhouse program at WNCC, compiling a 453-55 record that culminated in the 2007 NJCAA Division I national title.

The Cougars finished in the Top 10 at the national tournament in each of Green's seasons, including a current string of four straight Final Four appearances. In the last three seasons, WNCC went 163-7 and finished national runner-up in 2006.

Under Green's tutelage, the Cougars earned a total of 10 first-team and six second-team All-America certificates and regularly placed players at NCAA Division I and II programs.

WNCC's players have also found success in the classroom, with the team maintaining a cumulative 3.0 grade-point average in all nine of his seasons.

“I'm extremely excited about this opportunity to test my abilities at the next level,” Green said. “Alaska Anchorage is a program with unlimited potential for success, playing in a great league, and with terrific community support.”

“We had over 30 applications and Coach Green was our top choice, so we are obviously very pleased that he is going to lead our program,” UAA athletic director Dr. Steve Cobb said. “The future is bright for Seawolf volleyball.”

Before leading the Cougars to nine straight Region IX titles, the Gering, Neb., native coached seven years at the prep level, including a four-year stint at Kauai High School in Lihue, Hawaii .

Green earned a bachelor of science in mathematics from the University of Nebraska in 1991, and received his master's degree from the University of Wyoming in 1995.

Houck Hired by University of Portland

Western Oregon volleyball coach Joe Houck has resigned his position as the Wolves leader to become the head coach at the University of Portland

Houck, a Gresham native, led the Wolves to a second-place conference finish and a NCAA Division II regional tournament berth in 2007.

After 11-15 and 9-17 marks in his first two campaigns, Houck led the Wolves to a 16-10 record and first-ever NCAA Division II regional berth last fall.

WOU finished second in the GNAC, just behind national runner-up Western Washington, whom the Wolves defeated in the regular season. Houck, who has an eight-year collegiate head coaching record of 131-76, and the Wolves accomplished all of that with just one senior on the roster.

Houck, 44, replaces Doug Sparks at Portland, who led the Pilot program for eight years and spent another four season prior to that as an assistant coach. Sparks was 71-153 overall, and Portland went 7-21 this past fall including 0-14 in the WCC.

Houck came to WOU after serving as the associate head coach at Eastern Washington University for two seasons (2002-03).

Prior to that, he turned a Concordia program into a regional power (1997-01) and was the leader of one of the state's top prep programs at Barlow (1992-95), winning three 4A titles.

ALL-STAR TEAMS

Schneider Selected AVCA, Daktronics All-American

Schneider	Given

Western Washington libero Courtney Schneider has been named to the first team AVCA NCAA Division II All-American volleyball team and to the second team Daktronics team.

Five other GNAC players also earned AVCA All-American honors. Outside hitter Alyssa Given of Seattle Pacific was a third team selection, while outside hitter Jaime Anderson and middle blocker Tiana Roma of Western Washington and middle blockers Rachael Schurman of Central Washington and Cammy Dranginis of Northwest Naazarene received honorable mention honors.

Schneider was just one of two Pacific Region players named to the Daktronics All-American squad which is selected by the nation's sports information directors. Right-side hitter Jessica Granados of Cal State San Bernardino was a third-team selection.

A senior from Snohomish, Schneider was a third-team AVCA All-American last year. Schneider is just the fourth player in school history, and the third since WWU became a NCAA II member, to receive first-team All-America honors.

The other two NCAA II selections were libero Nicola Parker, who was a Daktronics choice in 2003, and setter Liz Bishop, who was an AVCA pick in 2002. Outside hitter Lorrie Post was a first-team NAIA All-American in 1990.

AVCA ALL-AMERICAN TEAM (Coaches): First Team - Courtney Schneider, Western Washington (L, 5-9, Sr., Snohomish, WA). Third Team - Alyssa Given, Seattle Pacific (OH, 5-10, Sr., Salinas, CA). Honorable Mention - Jaime Anderson, Western Washington (OH, 6-0, Sr., SeaTac, WA); Cammy Dranginis, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 6-0, So., Nampa, ID); Tiana Roma, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, Jr., Edmonds, WA); Rachael Schurman, Central Washington (MB, 6-0, Jr., Spokane, WA).

WWU's Flick Vote AVCA Coach of The Year In Pacific Region

Western Washington volleyball coach Diane Flick has been named the AVCA Pacific Region Coach of the Year.

Flick, who was also selected the Region Coach-of-the-Year in 2002, is in her eighth season at WWU and has a career record of 173-46 (.790), including 24-4 this season.

Three of Flick's players were selected to the AVCA Pacific Region all-star team - outside hitter Jaime Anderson, middle blocker Tiana Roma and libero Courtney Schneider.

Three other GNAC players were named to the 12-woman all-region squad - Alyssa Given of Seattle Pacific, Cammy Dranginis of Northwest Nazarene and Rachael Schurman of Central Washington.

Schneider was selected to the team for the third year in a row, while Given was a repeat selection from last year.

AVCA PACIFIC REGION (Coaches): First Team - Jaime Anderson, Western Washington (OH, 6-0, Sr., SeaTac, WA); Rebecca Bailey, UC San Diego (OH, 5-9, Jr., Escondido, CA); Alyssa Given, Seattle Pacific (OH, 5-10, Sr., Salinas, CA); Lindsay Macias, Chico State (OH, 5-11, Jr., Irvine, CA); Cammy Dranginis, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 6-0, So., Nampa, ID); Sharea Drawn, CSU San Bernardino (MB, 6-0, Sr., Sun Valley, CA); Tiana Roma, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, Jr., Edmonds, WA); Rachael Schurman, Central Washington (MB, 6-0, Jr., Spokane, WA); Vanessa Williams, Cal Poly Pomona (MB, 6-1, Jr., Riverside, CA); Jessica Granados, CSU San Bernardino (RS, 6-0, Jr., Beaumont, CA); Sara Hoffman, CSU San Bernardino (S, 5-6, So., San Clemente, CA); Courtney Schneider, Western Washington (L, 5-9, Sr., Snohomish, WA). Coach-of-the-Year - Diane Flick, Western Washington.

Schneider, Given Earn Daktronics All-Region Honors

Schneider	Given

Western Washington libero Courtney Schneider and Seattle Pacific outside hitter Alyssa Given have been selected to the Daktronics NCAA Division II Pacific Region volleyball all-star team.

It is the third straight first-team selection for Schneider, who leads the nation in digs (7.70). Given, who led the GNAC in kills this season (4.56) and ranks 21st nationally, earned first team honors for the second year in a row.

Schneider and Given finished second and third in the balloting for Player-of-the-Year behind Cal State San Bernardino right side hitter Jessica Granados, who received 10 of a possible 20 first-place votes.

Schneider, Flick Voted Top Player, Coach in GNAC

Western Washington libero Courtney Schneider, who ranks among the all-time dig leaders in NCAA Division II history, has been selected the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Player-of-the-Year .

Viking coach Diane Flick, who guided WWU to a 21-4 record and its fourth GNAC title in seven years, was selected the GNAC Coach-of-the-Year for the fifth time. Schneider heads up the seven-woman first team GNAC all-star team.

Thirty-Four Named to GNAC Academic Team

A total of 39 student-athletes have been named to the 2007 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference volleyball team.

Alaska Fairbanks placed the most players on the academic team with seven. For the third straight Kristi Wigren of Northwest Nazarene has the top grade point average among the scholar-athletes with a 3.95 GPA. Wigren, a senior from Olympia, Wash., is a social science education major.

Five GNAC Players Selected To District Academic All-Star Teams

Five GNAC volleyball players have been named to CoSIDA All-District Academic teams. Alicia Cazemier of Montana State Billings was the lone first team selection and will now be listed on the national ballot for consideration for Academic All-American honors.

CoSIDA Volleyball All-District (Academic): District 7, First Team – Alicia Cazemier, MSU Billings (Biology/Chemistry, 3.74, Sr., Vauxhall, ALB). District 8, Second Team – Courtney Schneider, WWU (Community Health, 3.59, Sr., Snohomish, WA); Lisa Martini, WOU (Exercise Science, So., 3.94, Philomath, OR); Stacey Bennett, WOU (Psychology, Jr., 3.89, Portland, OR). Third Team – Alyssa Given, SPU (Nursing, Sr., 3.82, Salinas, CA).

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