Belshe Named Volleyball Coach at Presbyterian

CLINTON, S.C. - After a nationwide search for the right individual, Christopher Belshe has been named the head volleyball coach at Presbyterian College by PC Director of Athletics Dr. William "Bee" Carlton.

Belshe comes to Presbyterian with a veritable background of volleyball coaching experience, having coached girls' club volleyball, high school and at the intercollegiate level, all points that Carlton emphasized in the choice of Belshe.

"We are so pleased to add Chris Belshe to our coaching staff," noted Carlton. "He is a talented young coach with unlimited potential. He has a proven record of success with high-quality athletes and has outstanding contacts in the areas in which we have had recruiting success.

"I have no doubt that Coach Belshe will be able to continue and build on the success our volleyball program has had over the years."

Belshe, who comes to Clinton from North Lauderdale, Fla., most recently was the assistant coach last spring with the Spanish River High School men's volleyball team in Boca Raton, Fla. In the fall of 2005, Belshe was a volunteer assistant at Lynn University, training individual student-athletes and organizing and running practices.

A graduate of Illinois State with a degree in finance, Belshe was a club assistant with the Illini Elite Volleyball Club in Bloomington, Ill. for almost four years, coaching various expansion and youth teams.

During his time with the Illini Elite Volleyball Club, Belshe coached at three different levels (18-and-under, 16-and-under and 15-and-under) with three of his teams reaching the USAV Junior Olympics. In fact, his 18-and-under squad qualified for the event twice, becoming the first 18-and-under Illini Elite club team to accomplish the feat when they did so in the 2003-04 campaign. A year earlier, Belshe coached the 15-and-under team to its first USAV Junior Olympics experience.

Altogether Belshe coached the 18-and-under Illini Elite club team from November of 2003 through July of 2005, garnering a slot every year in the list of top ten regional teams. Most impressively, every senior on his 18-and-under team committed to play NCAA Division I volleyball.

Belshe will be reunited with three of those players when he commences his time with Presbyterian on Friday, Aug. 4, including 2005 South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year Rachel Lewis. Two of the student-athletes, Lewis and Justine Lanchester, who was a 2005 SAC All-Freshman selection, will be entering their second years as Blue Hose, while Courtney Van Dusen will be making her first appearance as a Blue Hose after signing with the volleyball program out of Illinois Central College, a junior college in East Peoria, Ill.

The familiarity of the program and its student-athletes is one of the reasons that Belshe is very excited to be the new man in charge of volleyball at Presbyterian, remarking that "having coached several of the athletes on the team while they were in high school and going through the recruiting process with them I am familiar with the program and feel confident that coach Allen has left a terrific program behind. While the team this year will be very different from last year's team, I believe the incoming athletes will fill in nicely and allow us to continue the tradition of success that coach Allen created.

"Presbyterian College has created an environment of strong athletics and academics and I look forward to recruiting athletes to be a part of this environment. I also look forward to the transition to Division I as I feel that it will open many doors to us that might not be available to us right now."