Alverno College Athletics - Home of the Inferno

MILWAUKEE -- Alverno College Director of Athletics Brad Duckworth has announced the hiring of Paul Lawson as Alverno's new head volleyball coach effective immediately. Lawson becomes the fifth head coach of the program which enters its 11th season of competition this fall.

"Paul is a great addition to an already talented coaching staff at Alverno," Duckworth said. "His experiences and knowledge of building a winning program with a winning tradition is clear. I couldn't be happier with our newest coach."

Lawson inherits a volleyball program at Alverno that has won only four matches in the last three seasons and was winless in Northern Athletics Conference competition during that span.

"Paul will not be intimidated by the work it will take to put Alverno Volleyball on the map," Duckworth said. "He has turned two other programs around quickly and with the tremendous support that he will receive from everyone at Alverno, I fully expect him to have us in the right direction quickly."

MILWAUKEE -- Crystal McClure has resigned her position as head volleyball coach at Alverno College effective immediately.

McClure compiled a 2-52 record (.037) in two seasons at the helm for the Inferno. This season Alverno finished 0-28 overall and last in the Northern Athletics Conference (0-12).

"I'd like to thank Crystal for two seasons of service to our volleyball program," Alverno Director of Athletics Brad Duckworth said. "We wish her the best of luck in the future."

MILWAUKEE -- In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Alverno College women’s volleyball team set and exceeded its goal of raising $1,000 during the month of October for the 2009 Dig for Life initiative, tallying $1,080.20 in total donations that will go towards breast cancer research and education in partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.  

The Dig for Life fundraiser is a Northern Athletics Conference-wide effort each season during the month of October in which all member schools gather pledges for every dig (a defensive move to save a spiked volleyball) a player makes during home matches that month. Participants could choose to pledge an amount per dig or make a flat donation.

Alverno head coach Crystal McClure was extremely pleased at the effort her team put into Dig for Life this year, despite the fact that the team's small number of players could have hampered donation numbers.

MILWAUKEE -- Alverno College junior setter Kim Reuter has been named to the 2009 Northern Athletics Conference All-Sportsmanship Team, which is comprised of 13 individuals who exemplified positive sportsmanship throughout the season.

Although the Inferno endured a rough season, going 0-28 overall, the Franklin, Wis., native racked up 334 assists for the season to bring her career total to 1,281 to hold the top spot on Alverno's all-time assists list. Reuter also owns the No. 2 spot in the service aces column of the Inferno record book, landing a team-high 19 aces in 2009 to bring her career tally to 87.