Dec. 7, 2005

Grand Valley State head volleyball coach Deanne Scanlon was named the 2005 Tachikara/AVCA Division II National Coach of the Year. It was announced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), in conjunction with Tachikara USA, Inc.

Deanne led the Lakers to its first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship title with a 3-1 win over host Nebraska-Kearney. GVSU finished the season with a 32-6 overall and a 15-3 GLIAC record. Grand Valley State, which returned four starters and seven letterwinners from last season, posted a 5-3 mark against teams currently ranked in the CSTV/AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Lakers won 13 straight matches from Sept. 24 to Oct. 28 and spent the entire season ranked in the national poll.

The Lakers won the NCAA Division II Tournament Great Lakes Region by sweeping 24th-ranked Rockhurst in the regional final. Grand Valley State earned the right to host the regional after going 26-6 in the regular season and winning the GLIAC Tournament. The Lakers, who entered the NCAA Division II Tournament Elite Eight ranked 16th, swept Dowling in the national quarterfinals and then upset third-ranked University of Tampa in five games in the national semifinal. The Lakers upset top-ranked and tournament-host University of Nebraska at Kearney to claim the national title. The Grand Valley State victory broke Nebraska-Kearney's 66-match home-court win streak.

Scanlon has posted a 294-90 career record in her 11 seasons at Grand Valley State. She has led the Lakers to five Elite Eight appearances and four national semifinal appearances. Scanlon has been named GLIAC Coach of the Year twice and Tachikara/AVCA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year four times.

Tachikara will formally present the AVCA Division II National Coach of the YearSM award on Dec. 15 in San Antonio at the Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year and Victory Club AwardsSM banquet. The brunch is held in conjunction with the 2005 AVCA Annual Convention.