Tu'ivai & Weinmaster named as 2016-17 ACAC Women's Volleyball Coaches of the Year
LLOYDMINSTER, AB. (Feb. 22, 2017) – The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is proud to announce Sam Tu'ivai of the Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves (North Division) and Nolan Weinmaster of the Briercrest College Clippers (South Division) have been selected as the 2016-17 ACAC Women's Volleyball Coaches of the Year.
Tu'ivai has brought a new perspective to women's volleyball this year. By building a stronger foundation through pushing his athletes in new directions and challenging them to be better in different ways, the team has seen immense growth this season.
"Sam's passion and experience has provided the support and direction the team needs to achieve its goals this season," said François Fournier, GPRC Wolves Athletic Director.
The GPRC Wolves finished the regular season with a record of 19-5. With their third coach in two years, the team has worked hard to learn about each other and their coach while competing against great volleyball programs. With Tu'ivai's at the helm, the Wolves are sure to bring their best at the 2017 ACAC Women's Volleyball Championships.
South Division Coach of the Year recipient, Nolan Weinmaster has facilitated the growth of the Briercrest College's women's volleyball team since taking the reigns in 2006-17. In particular, the last three years the team has set program bests each season, improving to 15-5, 18-6, 19-5, and finally this year 20-4. Weinmaster's team led the ACAC with 11.21 kills/set, 10.80 assists/set and shattered their own ACAC record with 349 service aces this season (the old record set in 2014-15 was 281). Their 4.06 aces per set was also a new ACAC record.
"Nolan has consistently worked tirelessly in how he prepares his team for their season," said Nigel Mullan, Briercrest College Athletic Director. "Week in and week out he makes sure his team is prepared physically, mentally, and emotionally. He is consistently an example of what a post-secondary coach should be like in how they prepare their teams."
This is Weinmaster's fourth time receiving this award (he was selected in 2009-10, 2013-14 and 2014-15).
Weinmaster is a graduate of Briercrest where he was team captain and the most valuable player for the final three seasons of his playing career at Briercrest, and was named to the ACAC All-Conference Team for the 2005-06 season during his final year as a player.
Tu'ivai and Weinmaster received the awards on Feb. 22, 2017 at the ACAC Women's Volleyball Conference Championship Banquet held in Lloydminster, Alta.
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About the ACAC: The ACAC is the governing body for intercollegiate athletics in Alberta. Its mission is to provide competitive collegiate sport experiences, promote academic achievement and be a leader of sport development in Canada.
For more information on the ACAC, please visit our website: www.acac.ab.ca
For additional information, contact:
Francois Fournier, GPRC Wolves
Athletic Director
780-539-2230
Nigel Mullen, Briercrest College
Athletic Director
306-631-0337
nmullen@briercrest.ca
Mark Kosak, ACAC
Chief Executive Officer
403-875-7329
markk@acac.ab.ca
Twitter: @acac_sport / #ACACWVB2017
Facebook: AlbertaCollegesAthleticConference