For the eighth time in his storied 28-year career, Brian Gimmillaro was named Big West Conference Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Year.
Despite losing a multitude of players to injury, including 2011 All-American middle blocker Haleigh Hampton, Gimmillaro found ways to adjust the lineup and keep his team focused and competitive.
In recognition of the effort and a second place finish in the Big West, Gimmillaro was named the co-Coach of the year on Tuesday, alongside eighth-ranked Hawaii’s Dave Shoji.
Gimmillaro credited the team for continuing to improve and adapt throughout the season.
“Even though four were out, the players we had worked incredibly hard in practice and by the end we were a very good team,” he said. “They continued to improve and we were lucky to have such a hard working group. I felt fortunate to have the kids we had.”
The team will miss out on the NCAA tournament for the first time in 26 years, but Gimmillaro said he is proud of the way it responded to adversity and made a case for itself as an at-large bid by winning the final seven matches of its season.
“Every one of the players feels very good about their level of improvement,” he said. “They would let nothing bother them.”
The ‘Niners finished the season 18-11 overall and 13-5 in Big West play.
After graduating from Long Beach State in 1970, Gimmillaro went on to coach four CIF championship teams at Gahr High School.
Since returning to The Beach, Gimmillaro has led the 49ers to three national championships, eight Final Four appearances and 26 trips to the NCAA tournament. His overall record at LBSU is 744-189, which is good for the seventh-highest career winning percentage among active Division I coaches.