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July 20, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Melissa Aldrich Shelton, Virginia head volleyball coach, announced Friday that Ken Murczek has been hired as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers. He will begin his duties July 27.
“I am extremely excited to be working with Melissa and learning how she and her staff have taken UVa to the top of the ACC,” Murczek said.
Murczek spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Western Michigan. In this capacity, Murczek was instrumental in match preparation and training strategies in addition to recruiting responsibilities. The Broncos posted back-to-back 20-win seasons (2005 and 2006) for the first time since the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Over the two-year span, Murczek helped guide six all-conference players.
“Ken will bring an abundant amount of energy and knowledge into our gym,” Shelton said. “With his experiences as a professional player, he will be able to give key insights to our outside hitters and back row players. His passion for the game of volleyball is immense and I look forward to having him join our team.”
This summer, Murczek spent time at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., assistanting with skill development and on-court training for the United States Women’s National Volleyball Team.
In 2006, Murczek was integral in the development of senior setter Jenifer Sulewski, who broke the school record for single-season assists. She went on to earn First Team All-Mid-American Conference laurels.
Prior to his arrival at Western Michigan, Murczek spent the 2004 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Purdue, helping the Boilermakers to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1990.
Murczek was the head coach at NCAA Division II St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., for two seasons (2002-03). In his first year, the Panthers doubled their league win total and advanced to the conference tournament for the first time in three years. Murczek also spent a season at the helm at Cuyamaca College, a community college in San Diego. He guided the team to its first conference tournament bid in school history.
Aside from his coaching experience at the collegiate level, Murczek also has spent time working at the high school and club levels, most notably in the San Diego and Chicago areas.
Murczek also has experience on the court. He played four seasons of professional six-man indoor volleyball in Switzerland, Germany, France and Indonesia. At the University of Arizona, Murczek won back-to-back NIRSA national championships in 1999 and 2000. Most recently, Murczek competed at the 2007 USA Volleyball Open Nationals in Austin, Texas.
A Chicago native, Murczek earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a minor in biology from San Diego State University in 1998. He went on to earn a master’s degree with an emphasis in physical education from Arizona (2000) and a master’s degree in sports management from Western Michigan (2007).
Murczek and the Virginia volleyball team open the season Aug. 24 against Texas Tech in the Las Vegas Tournament.