Champaign, Ill. - The volleyball program is pleased to announce Owen Monroy as the newest member of the Fighting Illini coaching staff, effective May 12. Monroy was hired as an assistant coach, and will serve as the Illini's primary scouting coordinator.
"As I was talking to people and doing the search and doing my background on everybody, he just stood out as a guy that would be a good fit for the program," said head coach Kevin Hambly. "His skill set fits very well with the kind of presence in the gym that we're looking for.
Monroy comes to Champaign after a two-year stint at Saint Mary's in California, working with both the indoor and sand volleyball teams. The Bowmansdale, Pennsylvania, native took off for the West Coast in 2013 to become the assistant sand volleyball coach for the Gaels and served as the director of operations for the indoor squad in his first season before being named an assistant coach this past fall. Serving under former USA Men's National Team coach Rob Browning, who overlapped with Hambly in Colorado Springs, Monroy helped guide the Gaels to an 18-9 indoor record in 2013.
"He's a great communicator," Hambly continued. "I think he's proven himself to be a good young coach. I've always been intrigued by his mind and the way he thinks about the game. His willingness and eagerness to learn are the things that are exciting. And not to learn from someone, but to go learn on his own; to go do research and go study, and I know he'll bring that to our game, which is exciting."
Prior to his move out west, Monroy was a volunteer assistant for Penn State in 2012, where he helped lead the Nittany Lions back to the Final Four. Monroy also previously served as the first assistant at Westminster College (NAIA) in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he assisted in all areas of technical coordination, recruiting, on-court coaching and operations, as well as the men's associate head coach at his alma mater, Messiah College.
"He has experience in the Big Ten," said Hambly. "Even though it was just for one year with Penn State, it helps. Especially the way Penn State prepares. Their match prep is as good as anybody's, so it's nice to have someone that's been involved in that."
Monroy brings a wealth of coaching experience with him to Champaign, have also spent time assisting at the professional level, as a head coach on the club level and has his own collegiate playing experience. In the professional circuit, Monroy was an assistant coach for the Utah Unity, which debuted in the inaugural tournament for the Premier Volleyball League at the 2012 U.S. Open. In 2011, he was a head coach with the USAV High Performance Indoor Program through the Intermountain Volleyball Association. Monroy also spent two summers as a head coach with USAV High Performance Beach and coached at the club level with High Country Volleyball Club from 2010-12 and with the Capital Area Volleyball Association from 2004-2008.
A 2008 graduate of Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, he earned first team all-conference honors after leading Messiah to the 2008 NIRSA Division II National Championship as well as three Mid-Atlantic Conference Championships. He returned to his alma mater in 2013 as the men's associate head coach and guided his team to a perfect 23-0 record and the Division II NCVF National Championship.
