HP Finalizes Girls’ Select A1, Women's Junior Staffs

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 6, 2010) – The USA Volleyball High Performance Indoor Department has named the head coaching staff for the U.S. Girls’ Select A1 National Teams (GSA1) that will compete at the 2010 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships.

Saint Louis University Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Anne Kordes will serve as the lead head coach for the GSA1 that will compete during the 2010 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships held July 26-30 in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Other coaches selected for the program include Iowa State University Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, Concordia University Irvine Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Kyle Kvasnica, University of Arizona Associate Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Steve Walker, 2000 U.S. Olympian Charlene Johnson-Tagaloa and UC Irvine Assistant Women’s Volleyball Coach Ben Bodipo-Mempa.

In other news, USA Volleyball Managing Director of High Performance Managing Director Tom Pingel announced Kordes withdrew her name for consideration as assistant coach for the 2010 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team. In her place, Matt McShane has accepted a similar position with the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team.

Below are biographical sketches of the U.S. Girls’ Select A National Team coaching staff, as well as McShane’s background.

Anne Kordes
In six seasons at Saint Louis, Anne Kordes has led the Billiken volleyball program to unparalleled success with a 127-58 record in six years, including three NCAA Tournament appearances and Atlantic 10 regular-season titles in the last four seasons.

Kordes has been visible on the national coaching scene, serving as a coach for USA Volleyball High Performance programs. She was an assistant coach for the U.S. Girls' Youth National Team, which competed at the 2007 FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship in Mexico. In 2000, she was the assistant coach for the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team, and in 2001 she was an assistant for the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team. Kordes served as an assistant in 2002 and 2003 for the U.S. Women’s National A2 Collegiate Program.

Kordes was the only college coach named as an assistant to the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team in 2004. She had an opportunity to coach some of the nation's best young players and accompanied the squad to the 2005 FIVB Women’s Junior World Championship played in Turkey. Kordes was also tabbed an assistant coach in 2006 and 2009 for the U.S. National Select Team. She helped with the team's training and competition at the USA High Performance Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

While with SLU, the Billikens broke into the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top 25 for the first time Oct. 20, 2008, and have remained in the top 25 ever since. In 2008, Kordes was named CVU.com National Coach of the Year honors and selected AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year. She is the only coach in Billiken volleyball annals to pilot her team to four consecutive 20-win campaigns. In 2009, Kordes was named Atlantic-10 Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons.

Kordes began her coaching career in 1999 when Indiana hired her as an assistant coach. However, her stay in Bloomington was short-lived. Before sitting on the bench with the Hoosiers, she had an opportunity to take a recruiting position at the University of Illinois. Kordes then spent the next five seasons with the Fighting Illini, serving as the top assistant from 1999-2003 and coaching two All-Americans. During her five-year stint, the Illini qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times and posted a 90-61 record.

Christy Johnson-Lynch
Christy Johnson-Lynch has built Iowa State into a championship-caliber team since arriving in Ames as head coach. Since the 2005 season, the Cyclones have a 105-58 record under Johnson, the fastest ISU coach to reach 100-career wins. Before she started at ISU, the Cyclones had a 13-167 Big 12 Conference record in consecutive losing seasons.

In 2009, she directed the Cyclones to an NCAA-era record 27 wins and school-record 17 Big 12 wins, leading to the squad’s third straight NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance. Johnson-Lynch was named Volleyball Magazine’s Coach of the Year in 2009, as well as AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year.

Johnson-Lynch has mentored seven AVCA All-Americans while at Iowa State, including the school’s first-ever AVCA All-America First-Team selection (Ashley Mass).

Johnson-Lynch was an assistant at University of Wisconsin from 1997 to 2004. She helped the Badgers to the NCAA national championship match (finished second) and three regional finals. Johnson-Lynch coached for three Big Ten title teams and guided two setters to AVCA All-American honors under the head coaching of Pete Waite and John Cook while at Wisconsin.

Johnson-Lynch has international experience as a member of the 1989 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team and as a member of the 1993 U.S. National “B” Team. She played with the Nebraska Tornadoes of the National Volleyball Association for two seasons, leading the Tornadoes to the league championship in 1998.

Johnson-Lynch’s experience in the NCAA Tournament goes back to her collegiate playing career at Nebraska. She earned All-America honors for the Huskers in 1994 and 1995. Johnson-Lynch was the starting setter on the 1995 Nebraska team that won the school’s first NCAA championship. The Huskers made four NCAA tournament appearances and won three Big Eight titles during Johnson-Lynch’s collegiate career. In her junior and senior campaigns in Lincoln, Johnson-Lynch led Nebraska to a 63-2 mark, the second-best winning percentage of any setter in Nebraska history.

Charlene Tagaloa
Charlene Johnson-Tagaloa, an assistant coach for the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team that will compete in the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship, has built an impressive volleyball resume as both a player and coach. She has spent the past four years as the director of volleyball for American College Connection, along with five years as an instructor in the Johnson-Tagaloa Volleyball Camps.

Johnson-Tagaloa spent four seasons (2003-2006) as an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska working with the Huskers’ setters. During her tenure, Nebraska captured the 2006 NCAA National Volleyball Championship and reached the title match the previous year.

Johnson-Tagaloa has been active within the USA Volleyball High Performance program as a coach. She served as an assistant coach on the 2002 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team, which earned a silver medal at the NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship. Johnson-Tagaloa has spent a total of five years working with the High Performance Select program as either an assistant or head coach.

A member of the U.S. National Team from 1997 to 2001, Johnson-Tagaloa was the starting setter for the squad from January 1999 to August 2000. In her first season directing the U.S. National Team’s offense, Johnson-Tagaloa earned the best setter award at the 1999 NORCECA Continental Championship after leading her team to a second-place finish. She also guided the squad to a bronze medal at the 1999 Pan American Games. In 2000, Johnson-Tagaloa helped Team USA qualify for the Sydney Olympics as the starting setter at the NIKE Americas Volleyball Challenge. She also earned the best setter award at the four-team event.

Johnson-Tagaloa played collegiately at Brigham Young University from 1991-1994. She was a two-time AVCA All-American and helped the Cougars to their first-ever NCAA semifinal appearance in 1994. Johnson-Tagaloa was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year as a senior in 1994, capping a collegiate career in which she was named WAC Freshman of the Year in 1991. Johnson-Tagaloa ended her career with a school-record 5,321 assists.

Ben Bodipo-Memba
Ben Bodipo-Memba will start his second season as a member of the UC Irvine women's volleyball program this fall. Prior to joining the Anteater staff, he spent seven years on staff at Georgia Tech, serving as the program's associate head coach the last two years. During his tenure, he helped the Yellow Jackets to three NCAA appearances, two Atlantic Coast conference regular season titles (2003, 2004) and an ACC Tournament championship (2002).

Bodipo-Memba helmed the Georgia Tech offense for five years before becoming the program's defensive coordinator in 2007, producing three honorable mention All-American middle blockers and four all-conference selections. In 2008, Bodipo-Memba helped the team to the top spot in the ACC in kills and assists with two Georgia Tech middle blockers ranking third and fourth in hitting percentage.

Bodipo-Memba has worked with some of volleyball's elite athletes, serving as the 2009 USA Volleyball High Performance "USA Select" A1 head coach. He spent the summer in Colorado and Florida, where he guided the team to a bronze medal at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships in Ft. Lauderdale. In 2008, he was an assistant for the U.S. Women's National A2 Team that captured gold at the USA Volleyball Open National Championships.

Bodipo-Memba played collegiately at San Diego State and Grossmont College in the late 1980s. He earned a starting spot at middle blocker for the U.S. Olympic Festival Silver Medal team in 1990 and also competed from 1993-95 with the USA National Team. Bodipo-Memba also played professionally in Finland for Raison Loimu in 1996.

Bodipo-Memba began his coaching career at the high school level in San Diego and spent four years managing the San Diego Volleyball Club from 1994-97. In 2005, he assisted the U.S. National Team, joining head coach Lang Ping's staff for the Pan American Cup and helping the team qualify for the 2006 FIVB World Grand Prix.

Bodipo-Memba spent six years representing the ACC on the AVCA Assistant Coaches Committee and is also a member of the AVCA Education and Publication Committee, representing all assistant volleyball coaches. He continues to play in the annual USA Volleyball Open National Championships, where he helped his 2005 squad to the bronze medal in the Open division.

Steve Walker
In his second coaching stint at University of Arizona, Steve Walker begins his third straight season as associate head coach for the Wildcats this coming fall. Walker also served as an assistant for Arizona for three seasons from 2003-2005, helping the Wildcats to NCAA tournament appearances in all three years including an regional final in 2005.

Between his stints with Arizona, Walker served as head women’s volleyball coach at UC Davis and guiding the Aggies through the last year of reclassification into NCAA Division I and the first year of membership in the Big West Conference. During his tenure at UC Davis, he was selected to coach the Northern California Volleyball Association Youth Division Team at the Global Challenge in 2006. Walker was invited back to coach the NCVA Region Youth Team at the 2007 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

As a collegiate player at Long Beach State, Walker finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in assist per game. He was named AVCA All-America in 1995 after leading the NCAA in assists and assists per game.

Walker was selected to play for the U.S. at the World University Games in 1995. He was captain of University of Arizona’s back-to-back NIRSA club national championship teams in 1999 and 2000, highlighted by his selection as MVP in 2000. Walker has also won four bronze medals at the USA Volleyball Open National Championships.

Kyle Kvasnica
After spending four years as Concordia Volleyball's top assistant, Kyle Kvasnicka was named the program's seventh head coach in the spring of 2009.

In his first season as head coach, Kvasnicka led the Eagles to a 30-8 overall record and spot in the NAIA National Championship semifinals before losing to eventual champion Fresno Pacific in five sets. Before being named head coach, Kvasnicka served under 2008 NAIA Coach of the Year Paula Weishoff-the winningest coach in school history-throughout his tenure as assistant coach. Kvasnicka’s work at Concordia has helped the Eagles to four consecutive NAIA National Championships Semifinals berths, including a runner-up finish in 2008.

As an undergraduate at University of Nebraska, Kvasnicka was a volunteer assistant under head coach John Cook, who led his Cornhuskers to NCAA Division I national titles in 2000 and 2006.

Kvasnicka has been involved with the USA Volleyball High Performance Programs during the past four seasons. He also serves as Laguna Beach Volleyball Club Under-17 head coach the club’s assistant director.

In the summer of 2005, he was the head coach for the Southern California High Performance Regional Team that competed in the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships. He coached the U-15 and U-17 teams for Team Complete Athlete of Long Beach, guiding the U-15 squad to a fifth-place finish in the National Division of the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships. The U-17 team placed 13th in the American Division.

Prior to his Southern California coaching experience, Kvasnicka coached the Challengers Volleyball Club from 2001 to 2004 in Nebraska, where he led its U-17 team to a No.1-ranking en route to an eventual second-place finish at the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships. In 2003, he led his U-16 team to a fifth-place finish at Nationals in the 16 Open Division. In 2002, his U-15 team qualified for Nationals in the Open Division.

Kvasnicka also spent three years as a student coach at Norris High in Firth, Neb., helping guide the team to a conference championship in 1998 and a No. 5 ranking in the state. He also spent two seasons as assistant coach at Lincoln Southeast High School in Lincoln, Neb., helping the program to a third-place finish in the 2002 State tournament.

Matt McShane
Matt McShane recently accepted the head women’s volleyball coach position at Air Force after a five-year stint as an assistant coach at California-Berkeley.

McShane, recently selected as one of Volleyball Magazine's 10 Best Assistant Coaches, helped the Cal Bears to a 114-47 overall record in his five seasons. During his tenure, Cal produced seven AVCA All-Americans and finished every season ranked in the nation's top 20, including a No. 4 ranking in 2007.

Cal earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament every year McShane was on the bench. In 2009, his last season in Berkeley, the Bears (21-11, 11-7 Pac-10) advanced to the regional championship match for the third consecutive year, before falling to defending national champion Penn State.

Prior to his stint at Cal, McShane spent four years as an assistant coach at the University of Utah. In 2004, the Utes went 24-7 overall and 13-1 in league action and captured a share of their first-ever MWC title. Before joining the Utah staff, McShane was an associate head coach at the University of New Mexico (1987-2000). In 13 years in Albuquerque, he helped guide the Lobos to a 189-127 record, two conference championships and six trips to the NCAA tournament. Additionally, McShane served as an assistant coach at Brigham Young University from 1980-82.

In the summer of 2007, McShane was an assistant coach for U.S. Women's National A2 Team. He also served as the head coach for the 2002 U.S. National A2 Team. In the summer of 2001, he was the head coach for the Intermountain Volleyball Association (IVA) High Performance Team that toured Europe.

McShane, a CAP Level III coach, was named an assistant coach of the U.S. Women's National Team in 1996 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. While with the U.S. National team, McShane designed and ran practice sessions, did video analysis of Team USA and other major teams in the world, and prepared scouting reports on U.S. opponents.

McShane's coaching background also includes assisting former USA Women's National Indoor Volleyball team coach "Jenny" Lang Ping with the Yaohan International Volleyball Team in 1996. The team was comprised of the best American and Russian players who competed against the Chinese and Cuban National teams in cities throughout China.

Tags: High Performance, High Performance Championships, U.S. Women's Junior National Team, USA Volleyball High Performance Championships, USAV High Performance