By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Former Willamette University Head Volleyball Coach Marlene Piper, who led the Bearcats from 1994 through 2001, has been chosen by USA Volleyball to receive the Bertha H. Lucas All-Time Great Coach Award. Piper will receive the award at the USA Volleyball's Hall of Fame banquet on May 22 in Columbus, Ohio.

Piper guided Willamette to three straight Northwest Conference titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996. She earned a combined record at Willamette of 146-83 (.638) and was named NWC Coach of the Year three times.

"I was a junior on the volleyball team when Marlene became our coach, and I was so impressed by her," Willamette Faculty Representative Brandi Row Lazzarini ('96) commented. "We knew then that we were getting something special in her, because she was already a very accomplished coach before she came to us. She brought a very competitive spirit, while also modeling good sportsmanship and class for our team.

"She also brought great creativity," Lazzarini said. "An example: She constructed fake pool noodle arms with gloves at the top that she held up as blockers to help us practice 'tooling the block.' She had a way of getting us warmed up while also including skill development and having fun, and she always had a practice plan that was strategic to creatively develop our skills. For the first time we went to the national tournament during her second year as our coach. After I graduated, I was her assistant coach during the year she had her 500th college win, and I am still honored to have been a part of some of those wins. I am so pleased to see her achievements recognized by USA Volleyball."

Before coming to Willamette, Piper coached at Portland State, University of California-Berkeley, and University of California-Davis. Piper developed the Portland State volleyball program and her teams never missed the playoffs in her 15 years with the Vikings.

Piper retired from coaching in 2001 with an impressive cumulative record of 815-328 (.713) over 33 years. Piper also played on the Canadian National volleyball team and was a three-time USVBA Master's All-American, earning MVP honors at the 1984 national tournament.

In addition to her success in volleyball, Piper earned ASA All-America honors seven times as a fast-pitch softball player. She led her team to two national championships.

The All-Time Great Coach Award recognizes coaches with a minimum of 10 years of coaching experience, the ability to develop consistently successful teams, as demonstrated by performances at the state, regional, national and/or international levels, a demonstrated ability to train athletes to their highest potential, and the ability to respond in a professional manner to the successes, pressures and disappointments of competition. The coach must also have shared their abilities and knowledge to educate peers.