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| COUGAR VOLLEYBALL |
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The NAIA's First-Ever National Champion |
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| Fifth Place at Nationals in 1991 |
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| About the Cougars
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The NAIA’s first-ever national champion, Azusa Pacific has always been a pioneer of sorts in women’s volleyball. The university was one of the first small colleges to field a women’s volleyball team. And when the program moved from club status to the intercollegiate level in 1976, the Cougars were an instant national power. It took just 3 years for the Cougars to capture a national title, winning the AIAW Division III crown in 1979. The following season, they made a bold move by joining the NAIA when it became the first association to sponsor both men’s and women’s national championships. The Cougars made it 2 national titles in a row by sweeping through the NAIA Tournament and garnering that national championship in 1980. NAIA All-Americans Stephanie Alpenia and Theresa Saathoff led the Cougars to a level of a dominance that the university had never previously experienced.
Today, Azusa Pacific plays in the best volleyball conference in the NAIA – the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). At least 1 GSAC member has advanced to the NAIA semifinals each of the past 7 years. Since becoming a GSAC charter member in 1986, the Cougars have made 2 return trips to the NAIA Tourney, riding the performance of NAIA Player of the Year Lenee Hill to a fifth place showing in 1991 and then narrowly missing the quarterfinals in 1994.
First-year Cougar coach Gerry Gregory, a former U.S. national team member and an AVCA Hall-of-Fame inductee, takes over the Cougar reigns in 1998 after developing a fine coaching reputation on the NCAA Division I ranks.
A typical Azusa Pacific volleyball roster features 12-15 players. Partial athletic scholarships are available. Azusa Pacific plays its home matches on campus in the "Cougardome."
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copyright 1998
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Direct your questions or comments to the sports information director at gpine@apu.edu.
For more information, call (626) 812-3024
or write, Azusa Pacific University, 901 E. Alosta Ave., Azusa, CA 91702-7000.
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