Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Volleyball's Sonya Locke Named MVC Coach-Of-The-Year
11/22/2002 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 22, 2002
Peoria, Ill. - Southern Illinois University head volleyball coach Sonya Locke was awarded the Missouri Valley Conference 2002 Coach of the Year award at the State Farm MVC volleyball championships banquet Friday evening.
"I'm honored to earn the respect of my fellow coaches. Winning this award is beyond words. I'm in awe," said Locke. "Awards of this nature go to coaches because of what the players achieve. My team was the team of the year."
Locke has been a fixture in the league not only as a coach, but also as a student-athlete at SIU. Locke took this year's team, picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll,, to a third place finish in the MVC. The Salukis post a 21-9, 12-6 MVC mark this season after 11-19, 5-13 MVC records last year. This season's record is the best at SIU since 1986.
Locke earned her first 20-win season in her 12 years at SIU. She also got her 200th overall coaching win. Locke owns four records at SIU including the top spot for attack percentage in a career (.320) and season (.369), total blocks (175) and block assists (140) in a season.
