University of Saint Mary Hires Conan Salanoa as New Head Volleyball Coach

Wed, Apr 14, 2010 - [Volleyball] - Viewed 561 times

LEAVENWORTH, KS-The University of Saint Mary has named Conan Salanoa as its new Spires head volleyball coach. Salanoa is a former assistant volleyball coach with the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Kangaroos, USM Athletic Director Rob Miller made the announcement Friday, April 9.

  

Salanoa will replace former Head Volleyball Coach Paul Lawson, who left USM last month to become head coach at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wis.

 

"We are very pleased with the addition of Coach Salanoa to lead our volleyball program," Miller said. "His passion and desire to build a program while teaching and directing fundamental skills is very appealing."

 

Salanoa, for his part, said his goals are to improve the team's training and, hopefully, win a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.

 

"I'll do my best to bring out the best in our team," he said.

 

Salanoa, a Graceland University grad, said the friendly, small-college atmosphere of Saint Mary in part drew him to the post.

 

"I went to a small high school and a smaller university," the Hawaii native and current Gladstone, Mo., resident said. "I like the family-like atmosphere."

 

With Salanoa as an assistant coach, UMKC's team greatly improved their defensive rankings, moving from 180th to 24th nationally in digs per game and from 181st to 42nd nationally in blocks per game.

 

Salanoa has also coached in the KC Extreme Volleyball Club and served as head varsity volleyball coach for St. Pius X High School in Kansas City.

 

Saint Mary has eight varsity sports: football, volleyball, baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball, and men's and women's soccer. Go to www.gospires.com for more information on USM Spires athletics.

 

The University of Saint Mary is a Catholic co-educational applied liberal arts university founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. The University of Saint Mary is located at 4100 South 4th Street, Leavenworth, Kan., with additional locations in Overland Park, Shawnee, and Kansas City, Kan. Visit www.stmary.edu for more information.

 

Article provided by University of Saint Mary Director of Public Relations, John Shultz