Red Wolves - IU East

The Indiana University East volleyball team picked up yet another win.

The Red Wolves volleyball team's appearance in the 2009 NAIA National Championships won the 2009-10 IU East "Sports Story of the Year" voting at www.iueredwolves.com.

"Volleyball advances to nationals" received 57.6 percent of the 125 votes cast at www.iueredwolves.com over the past month.

Nominees were based on total page views on the www.iueredwolves.com Web site during the 2009-10 school year.

"When I look back on the 2009 season I look back onto it with extreme pride!" said IU East coach Charlie Brown. "I'm proud of our girls. The hard work, the dedication, the commitment and the sacrifice that each and every one of them put into the season for us was nothing short of remarkable! They all bought into what we were doing. They believed in us as coaches and in themselves as players.

"We all grew up in 2009, coaches included. We grew together. We knew what we wanted out of the season, we set our goals, team theme, and we never lost sight of them. We learned the importance of chemistry, trust and respect. We all grew up and had fun doing it! We learned how to be winners, and we learned how to handle the tough loses and learned how to regroup after each of those tough losses."

The Red Wolves volleyball team posted a 30-12 record during the 2009 season. IU East won the program's first Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. The Red Wolves concluded their season with the program's first appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championships.

Brown was named KIAC Coach of the Year. Freshman Breezy Strete (Troy, Ohio/Troy High School) was KIAC Player of the Year.

All of these are tangibles," Brown said. "But the intangibles are equally as important. The pride, energy, and excitement that the school, faculty and staff had for our team and program. The fans that came to watch us play. The support of the community. The recognition of our program in the volleyball community both far and abroad. The recognition that the media gave us. The memories that Londa (Brown, assistant volleyball coach) and I have of these kids, the season, the accolades are irreplaceable!

"It was a storybook season and will be hard to surpass! But were going to do our best to try!"

"Tyler Rigby and Breezy Strete named All-Americans" was the runner-up with 24 percent of the vote.

Rigby (Bryant, Ind./Jay County High School), a junior on the IU East men's basketball team was named an honorable mention NAIA All-American for Division II men's basketball.

Strete was an NAIA honorable mention All-American volleyball selection.