Katie O’Brien has been named
the new head volleyball coach at the
University of Montevallo. She will
become the seventh head coach in the
36-year history of the program. She will
succeed William "Perry" Robinson, who
left UM at the conclusion of the 2007
season.
“We are very excited that Katie O’Brien will be joining
the University of Montevallo,” UM athletic
director Jim Herlihy said. “She is an
outstanding coach and educator who
brings an overwhelming
desire to succeed and has been associated with winning
programs as a student-athlete, assistant coach and as a
head coach. We are confident that she will
continue the strong tradition of volleyball here at
Montevallo.”
O'Brien comes to UM from Piedmont
College in Demorest, Ga., where she
served as the head volleyball coach
for the past eight seasons. She guided
the Lady Lions to their first-ever NCAA
Division III National Tournament this
past November. With a career record of
182-109, O’Brien led her team to two
Great South Athletic Conference
Tournament Championships, in 2001 and in
2007. She was also voted twice named
GSAC Coach of the Year in 2005 and
2007. Also serving as the school's
Senior Women's Administrator, she
mentored 36 Academic All-Conference
honorees, 22 All-Conference selections,
12 Freshmen All-Conference picks, three GSAC Freshmen-of-the-Year selections,
one league Player of the Year and two
tournament MVPs.
O’Brien’s players also are known
for their successes in the classroom.
During her career at Piedmont, her
teams’ cumulative grade-point average
was 3.26. The
2006 season saw O’Brien’s team earn the
American Volleyball Coaches
Association’s (AVCA) GamePlan
Academic
Team Award as the squad carried a 3.42
cumulative GPA.
A former
intramural director at Piedmont, O’Brien
is a member of the South Regional
Advisory Committee and is chapter
adviser of the National College Athletic
Honor Society, Chi Alpha Sigma.
O’Brien
received her bachelor of science degree
in sports, health, leisure and physical
studies from the University of Iowa in
1999. She earned her master’s degree in
public administration from Piedmont in
2001.
Prior to
beginning her coaching career, she was a
standout volleyball player at the
University of Iowa. She is currently
ranked 14th on the Hawkeyes career
blocks list and is 13th in career attack
percentage. Additionally, O’Brien posted
back-to-back top-10 finishes in the
Big-10 Conference in blocks per game
(1997 and 1998).
She is a
member of the American Volleyball
Coaches Association and the American
Coaches Federation. She is a former
member of the board of directors of the
Vertical 1 Club Team and is a former
coach for the Northlake Kaepa Volleyball
Club.
In 2005,
O’Brien married Freddie Chapman. They
live in Calera.
|
