ACAC Volleyball Coach of the Year
Congratulations are in order for three members of the Briercrest men's volleyball team. Nigel Mullan was named 2010-11 ACAC Men's Volleyball Coach of the Year, while two of his players were also named the 2010-11 ACAC Men's Volleyball All-Conference Team. Scott Lesher was named First Team All-Conference and Trevor Klassen as named Second Team All-Conference.
Lesher was third overall in the league for kills per game at 3.46 and was also second in the league for digs with 138. He was also a very consistent passer on serve recieve for the Clippers all season long.
Klassen ran one of the most potent offences in the ACAC, which averaged 12 kills per game, but he also contributed with his blocking, defense and serving. He finished ninth overall in serving aces, 10th overall in digs and 24th in blocks per game. As a team the Clippers led the league in aces per game, digs per game and were tied for first in kills per game.
The following is from the ACAC press release for Coach Mullan's award.
Nigel Mullan – Briercrest Clippers
Nigel Mullan is in his seventh year as head coach for the Briercrest Clippers men’s volleyball team. Since taking over the reins for the 2004-05 season, his team has made it to the ACAC Conference Championships every year. The program has steadily grown into a top contender, with the most success coming in the last three years. Briercrest has won ACAC silver medals two out of the last three seasons and also went on to be one of the conference representatives at CCAA Nationals in 2007-08.
The 2010-11 campaign has been the most successful regular season for Mullan’s program, as they finished atop the ACAC with a record of 17 wins and only three losses. This is the first-ever regular season first-place finish for Briercrest men’s volleyball since entering the ACAC in 1996. Mullan’s diligent recruiting and hard work in building the program have paid off, as the team maintained a top two national ranking in the CCAA for the entire season, holding the number one spot for most of the first half of the season.
The success of the team is due in large part to the high quality student-athletes, in both skill and character, whom Mullan has developed and kept in the program for multiple years. Mullan strongly believes in mentoring his players to be champions on and off the court, so that they are becoming the best student-athletes that they can be, but also developing character and growing in their relationship with God. His desire is that when they leave the Briercrest program, they are set up to be the type of leaders of character that will make good decisions and live a life of positive influence on others.
In addition to coaching, Mullan is also the associate athletic director for Briercrest Athletics. He is a NCCP Level 3 certified volleyball coach and is a graduate of Briercrest College and Seminary. He has also had experience coaching with Team Saskatchewan, most recently as an assistant coach with the 21U men’s team for the 2009 Canada Summer Games in PEI.
Congratulations to Nigel and his team for an outstanding season!