MCC News
Wed, Mar 3, 2010 - [Volleyball] - Viewed 629 times - Post By Brian Thiessen
SAU head coach Bruce Billingsley (right) and associate head coach Jim Finn look on at a Queen Bee match.
St. Ambrose head women's coach Bruce Billingsley and associate head coach Jim Finn have each been honored for their work in the sport of volleyball.
Billingsley was one of two members of the inaugural class inducted into the QCVolleyball Hall of Fame, while Finn was selected as a 2010 Thirty Under 30 award recipient, an award created by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) to honor thirty of the up-and-coming volleyball coaches under the age of 30 at all levels of the game.
Completing his 13th season at the helm of the Queen Bees in the fall of 2009, Billingsley is the winningest coach in St. Ambrose volleyball history. His teams have earned seven conference championships while earning eight regional and two national tournament appearances. His 2009 team won 35 matches and advanced to the NAIA National Championships.
Billingsley has coached eight all-Americans and six conference players of the year. His teams have received nine American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Awards for a team GPA of at least a 3.4 and have produced 23 All-American Scholar Athletes.
He has won more than 500 career matches while coaching men's and women's teams at St. Ambrose and Marycrest.
Billingsley said, "I am humbled by this honor from the Quad City volleyball community. Being inducted alongside Lew Clemons makes this honor even more meaningful. Lew was the person who first taught me to play volleyball and got me enthused for the sport."
Finn started his coaching career with the St. Ambrose women's team while playing for the men's volleyball program. Over his five years with the program, the Queen Bees won 136 matches and three Midwest Collegiate Conference championships. The 2009 SAU women's team won a school-record 35 matches and qualified for the NAIA National Championships.
As an assistant men's varsity coach for two years, Finn helped the 2008 Fighting Bees win a school-record 29 matches and finish third at the NAIA National Invitational Tournament. Finn also won 65 matches with a .823 winning percentage in two seasons as the SAU head men's junior varsity coach.
After graduating with a degree in Management and Marketing, Finn earned his Master's of Business Administration from St. Ambrose in December.
More information on the Thirty Under 30 Award is available at www.avca.org/articles/index.cfm?action=view&articleID=3013 while the complete list of winners was announced in the February/March edition of Coaching Volleyball.
More information on the QCVolleyball Hall of Fame is available at www.qcvolleyball.org/qcvb_hof.html.
Photo courtesy of Nate Beier - http://gx3media.smugmug.com
Billingsley was one of two members of the inaugural class inducted into the QCVolleyball Hall of Fame, while Finn was selected as a 2010 Thirty Under 30 award recipient, an award created by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) to honor thirty of the up-and-coming volleyball coaches under the age of 30 at all levels of the game.
Completing his 13th season at the helm of the Queen Bees in the fall of 2009, Billingsley is the winningest coach in St. Ambrose volleyball history. His teams have earned seven conference championships while earning eight regional and two national tournament appearances. His 2009 team won 35 matches and advanced to the NAIA National Championships.
Billingsley has coached eight all-Americans and six conference players of the year. His teams have received nine American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Awards for a team GPA of at least a 3.4 and have produced 23 All-American Scholar Athletes.
He has won more than 500 career matches while coaching men's and women's teams at St. Ambrose and Marycrest.
Billingsley said, "I am humbled by this honor from the Quad City volleyball community. Being inducted alongside Lew Clemons makes this honor even more meaningful. Lew was the person who first taught me to play volleyball and got me enthused for the sport."
Finn started his coaching career with the St. Ambrose women's team while playing for the men's volleyball program. Over his five years with the program, the Queen Bees won 136 matches and three Midwest Collegiate Conference championships. The 2009 SAU women's team won a school-record 35 matches and qualified for the NAIA National Championships.
As an assistant men's varsity coach for two years, Finn helped the 2008 Fighting Bees win a school-record 29 matches and finish third at the NAIA National Invitational Tournament. Finn also won 65 matches with a .823 winning percentage in two seasons as the SAU head men's junior varsity coach.
After graduating with a degree in Management and Marketing, Finn earned his Master's of Business Administration from St. Ambrose in December.
More information on the Thirty Under 30 Award is available at www.avca.org/articles/index.cfm?action=view&articleID=3013 while the complete list of winners was announced in the February/March edition of Coaching Volleyball.
More information on the QCVolleyball Hall of Fame is available at www.qcvolleyball.org/qcvb_hof.html.
Photo courtesy of Nate Beier - http://gx3media.smugmug.com
