June 30, 2008

   PITTSBURGH—Toby Rens, who established the Long Island University women’s volleyball program as a perennial NCAA Tournament team and Northeast Conference power, has been named head women’s volleyball coach at the University of Pittsburgh, Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson announced.

                                              

   Rens joins Pitt following a highly successful four-year tenure at LIU that witnessed the Blackbirds earn Northeast Conference titles and automatic NCAA Tournament berths each season. LIU averaged 26.5 victories a year under Rens, including a 32-7 mark in 2004, the winningest season in LIU history.

 

   “This is a great day for Pitt volleyball,” Pederson said. “Toby Rens is the right coach at the right time to lead our program forward.  He is a proven winner at all levels. I know that everyone associated with our program will be excited to watch what he is able to do at Pitt.”

                                                               

   “I’d like to thank Steve Pederson and his staff for giving me this opportunity,” Rens said. “During the interview process it was apparent that Pitt has a tremendous commitment to the student-athlete. There is a wonderful support system here to help our young people achieve both academically and athletically.

 

   “I first visited Pitt while I was an assistant at George Washington and really fell in love with the city and university. Western Pennsylvania has a great tradition of high school and Junior Olympic volleyball. When you combine that with the strong fan support the university’s sports teams have, it just makes for a great opportunity to build something special. I am really looking forward to a new chapter for Pitt volleyball and building off the tremendous history the program already has.”

 

   Rens coached three Northeast Conference Player of the Year honorees at LIU and himself was the 2005 NEC Coach of the Year. Overall, 18 LIU players earned All-NEC under his guidance.

 

   LIU also performed exceptionally in the classroom under Rens’ watch. The Blackbirds three times earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Academic Award (2007-08, 2006-07 and 2004-05) and regularly boasted one of the highest team grade-point averages at LIU, twice taking top honors. Two of his student-athletes were named to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team.  

 

   Prior to LIU, Rens was the head coach for three seasons (2001-03) at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, where he orchestrated a dramatic turnaround. Prior to his arrival, the Hawks had not won a match in over two years. During his debut season, UMES went 3-28 before surging to a 20-15 mark and earning a berth in the conference final the following year. For his efforts in directing the biggest turnaround in NCAA Division I, Rens was named the 2002 MEAC Coach of the Year. The Hawks went 46-27 over his final two seasons, including a 26-12 mark in 2003.

 

   Rens’ other head coaching post came at Northern Michigan University, where he compiled a two-year mark of 58-17 and guided the Wildcats to a pair of NCAA Division II Tournaments and two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season championships.

 

    In addition to his head coaching posts, Rens served as an assistant at Texas Tech (2000), George Washington (1994-97), Tennessee Tech (1993) and his alma mater, Morningside College (1992).

 

   He is highly active in national volleyball circles, serving as a member of the NCAA Division I Head Coaches Committee and as a voter in the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll. 

                                                                                                                            

   A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Rens graduated from Morningside in 1992 with a bachelor’s in physical education.