Dec. 14, 2008

ST. LOUIS - After guiding Saint Louis to its first NCAA Tournament victory in program history, head volleyball coach Anne Kordes has been selected as the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I Northeast Region Coach of the Year. One of eight Division I coaches honored, she is now a candidate for AVCA National Coach of the Year accolades.

Kordes led the Billikens (29-5, 13-0 Atlantic 10) to one of their best seasons in program history in 2008. SLU became the first team to go unbeaten in A-10 competition since 1997, capturing the outright regular-season crown for the first time in school history. It was the second time in the last three seasons that the Billikens had gained at least a share of the regular-season title. Kordes led Saint Louis to a historic win over then-No. 3 Stanford early in the season that put her team in the national spotlight, and on Oct. 20 earned its initial ranking in the Bison/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. SLU went on to seize the A-10 Championship crown for its second NCAA Tournament berth since 2006.

Saint Louis entered the postseason as the No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Billikens defeated Alabama A&M in the opening round for the program's first NCAA Tournament victory. SLU established a school record with a 21-match win streak, which at one point was the second-longest streak in the nation. Kordes, who has been at SLU since the start of her head-coaching career five years ago, owns a 103-54 (.656) record.

Individual accolades came in droves for the Bills in 2008. SLU nearly swept the individual A-10 awards as Sammi McCloud (Columbia, Ill. / Columbia) became the program's first A-10 Player of the Year, Whitney Roth (Louisville, Ky. / Assumption) was awarded her second straight Setter of the Year honor and Kordes picked up Coach of the Year honors for the second time since 2006. Additionally, Bridget Fonke (St. Louis, Mo. / St. Joseph's) went on to earn A-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player accolades. Saint Louis also paced the Northeast Region with a league- and program-record four All-Region selections, each of which are now eligible for All-America plaudits.

Kordes will receive her award at the 2008 jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, Dec. 18, at the 2008 AVCA Annual Convention.