University of Connecticut Athletics
Connecticut Volleyball Coach Among AVCA Thirty Under 30 Award Recipients
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Feb. 20, 2009
STORRS, Conn.- The University of Connecticut women's volleyball head coach Holly Strauss-O'Brien is among the recipients of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Thirty Under 30 Award. Strauss-O'Brien led the Huskies to their third-consecutive BIG EAST Tournament in 2008, finishing the season with a 21-11 overall record and 10-4 mark in conference play.
In the past four seasons, Strauss-O'Brien has complied 74 wins, including 33 conference victories. Under her guidance members of the UConn team have received All-BIG EAST honors five times, including last season's team leader in kills per game, Chauntay Mickens.
Off the court, eight student-athletes were named to the All-Academic BIG EAST team under her tenure. Eight members of the volleyball program were among those who earned Director of Athletics Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll status and four have been named the Dean's List.
Strauss-O'Brien became the third head coach in the program's 32-year history prior to the 2005 season. After four seasons at the helm of the Connecticut program, she has a .616 winning-percentage. She led the 2008 squad to the program's first 20-or-more win season for the first time since 2003.
This is the inaugural year for the AVCA award and it was created to recognize 30 up-and-coming coaches at all levels in volleyball. The entire list of recipients is published in the February/March edition of the Coaching Volleyball magazine.
