ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson University Director of Athletics Bill D'Andrea has announced that head volleyball coach Gene Krieger has resigned to accept the head coaching position at Hawai'i Hilo.
"We are certainly going to miss Gene Krieger as our volleyball coach," said D'Andrea. "He did a tremendous job with the entire program. Gene's leadership, dedication and commitment to our program has been significant. He will certainly be missed by his student-athletes, the administration, and in the relationships he established within the volleyball community. We thank Gene for his significant contributions to Anderson volleyball and wish him the very best as he enters his new challenge at Hawai'i Hilo."
The California native was named the Vulcans' sixth head coach Monday night and inherits a team that finished 10-15 overall last season and 8-12 in the Pacific West Conference. UHH, a member of NCAA Division II, is rich in volleyball tradition, with two AIAW National Championships and five NAIA national titles, along with five Pacific West Conference championships.
Krieger guided the Trojans to an overall record of 30-30 in two seasons, including back-to-back appearances in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, after being named AU's head coach prior to the 2015 campaign.
A four-time NCAA Division II and NAIA Coach of the Year, Krieger was named the fifth coach in school history following a successful two-year stint at Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, Okla., where he inherited a young Ranger program that won just two matches in 2012 and led Northwestern to 22 wins in two seasons, including a 17-11 mark in 2014.
Krieger has posted a 387-220 record over a 17-year span as a collegiate head coach, winning NAIA National Coach of the Year honors three times and was named NCAA Division II Coach of the Year while at Cal Poly Pomona.
AU hosted the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Tournament and as the No. 7 seed, nearly upsetting second-seeded and eventual NCAA Southeast Region Champion Carson-Newman in the first round at the Abney Athletic Center.
Last season, the Trojans swept perennial region powerhouse Wingate, marking just the Bulldogs' fourth SAC loss in three years. The victory was AU's second win in school history over the Bulldogs and the first since 1999, when the Trojans were in their first year as a member of NCAA Division II.
Krieger helped guide five different players to All-South Atlantic Conference honors, with two of them also garnering All-Region accolades during his two seasons in the Electric City.
