Volleyball Coach Ed Allen Garners National Honor
2/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Feb. 3, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - University of Alabama head volleyball coach Ed Allen was named College Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Coach of the Year honorable mention after guiding Tulsa to their first NCAA Tournament win, a Conference USA championship, and a 31-3 record in 2010.
Allen joins Cal State Fullerton's Carolyn Zimmerman, Utah State's Grayson DuBose, Mississippi's Joe Getzin as a top-five finalists for the national award, which was given this year to Creighton's Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
"Being selected for this award speaks volumes for the type of athletes and staff I had to work with at Tulsa," Allen said. "The truth is you don't win 30 matches unless you have players. More than anything else, it's a testament to what a true team we were, and how important it was to have everyone in the organization focused on the goal."
After four years of guiding Tulsa to the top of Conference USA, fifth-year coach Ed Allen put one more record-setting season into the books. The previous four campaigns all resulted in at least 20 wins, but 2010 saw a program-best 31, as Tulsa ran off 30-straight victories during the season. The Golden Hurricane was a perfect 20-0 in Conference USA play, earning their second-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament and upsetting LSU (3-0) to claim their first-ever tournament win.
Tulsa finished with a 31-3 record after falling to Oklahoma in the second round. Following the regular season, Allen was honored as the Conference USA Coach of the Year and was named the AVCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year. Before accepting the head coach position at Alabama on Jan. 10, 2011, Allen posted a 133-37 record in five seasons at Tulsa.
