Lewis University Men's Volleyball

Friend has accumulated a 221-114 record during his 11 years as head coach of Lewis. In that time, Friends student-athletes have earned 48 All-MIVA, 45 MIVA Player of the Week, four AVCA National Player of the Week and 13 AVCA All-American honors. Lewis has been ranked nationally in 109 of 117 AVCA Division I-II Top 15 Polls since the middle of the 2008 season. Friend has recorded non-conference victories over UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, Hawaii, Stanford, UC Irvine, Penn State, Long Beach State and BYU. 2015 was a record setting season for Lewis. Friend's Flyers went 27-4 to set a program record for fewest losses in a season. He was named the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year as well as the MIVA Coach of the Year. The Flyers won the MIVA regular season title and finished as national runner-up. Lewis earned a midseason No. 1 ranking in the AVCA Poll for the first time in program history. Five Flyers were named AVCA All-Americans Geoff Powell picking up first team honors. Eric Fitterer took home AVCA All-America Second Team accolades before earning the prestigious NCAA Elite 89 Award for his work in the classroom. Fitterer was also named a CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team selection.   Lewis advanced to the MIVA Championship in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Setter BJ Boldog was an AVCA All-American each year. The Flyers won the 2012 MIVA Tournament and advanced to the National Semifinals for the fourth time in program history. Lewis finished the season ranked sixth in the nation. The Flyers tied for the most wins in the country with 26. A year later, the Flyers earned a 2013 MIVA regular season title. In 2014 the Flyers again advanced to the MIVA title game and picked up one of two at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament play-in matches. Lewis was the first MIVA member to earn an NCAA al-large bid since 1994.   Neil Carey Arena has become a house of pain for opponents under Friend. Since 2008 the Flyers are 106-21 in Romeoville for an .834 win-percentage.   While Lewis breakthrough season came in 2012, the 2009 season may have been the turning point for Friends rebuilding efforts. The senior laden squad, made up of Friends first recruiting class, reached as high as No. 9 in the nation before finishing the season ranked No. 12 thanks to a 21-8 record. Individually, outside hitter Drew Pickering became Lewis first AVCA All-American in six seasons. His 4.15 kills per set led the MIVA and helped him become Lewis first MIVA Player of the Year in 10 seasons. Libero Nick Perakes became Lewis all-time leader in digs with 964. All told, five of Lewis seven starters earned All-MIVA selections.   Friends first taste of NCAA postseason play came in the fall of 2006 when he took over as interim head coach of the Lewis womens team and led the Flyers to their first conference championship in 14 years. The womens team went 17-3 under Friend, finishing with a 25-6 overall record and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Friend has served in various roles for USA Volleyball. In 2014 and 2015, Friend served as the head coach of the USA Mens Junior National Team. The squad earned the bronze medal at NORCECA in El Salvador in 2014 and competed at Worlds in Mexicali, Mexico in 2015. He was the head coach of the 2012 U.S. Boys Youth National Volleyball Team that earned a bronze in the NORCECA Boys Under-19 Continental Championship in Tijuana, Mexico. He served an assistant coach on the 2011 USA FIVB World Youth Championships team that competed in Argentina, the 2009 USA FIVB World Youth Championships team that competed in Italy and the 2008 Mens USA Volleyball Junior National Team. Friend helped the 2008 squad earn the bronze medal. He also coached and played for a college-age mens team called USA Athletes on four different summer tours. That team took first at the 2007 Scottish Open, 2004 Aruba Invitational and the 2002 Down Under Games (Australia). In 2003 the team finished third in the DKV Invitational (Netherlands). Before arriving at Lewis, Friend served as the mens and womens volleyball head coach at Newman University. Friend started the mens volleyball program at Newman in 2002 and led the team to the NAIA national championship match in its third year. He coached the Jets to a 20-win season in 2003 and was named NAIA National Coach of the Year after leading the 2004 squad to a 29-11 mark and national runner-up finish. He was inducted into Newman's Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 2, 2013 as a head coach and with his 2004 squad.  As Newmans womens head volleyball coach, Friend guided the program to 22 or more wins in each of his three seasons at the helm. He coached 15 all-conference, eight all-region and two All-America players. In 2003, the Jets posted a 32-8 overall record and 14-2 league mark. Friends combined record in the two positions, was 142-81 (.637), including a 66-40 (.623) record with the mens team. Before coaching at Newman, Friend spent three seasons as an assistant womens volleyball coach at Washburn University. Prior to that, Friend was a student assistant at Washburn for four years. Friend is a native of Topeka, Kan., and a graduate of Washburn University. He earned a bachelors degree in athletic training and exercise physiology at Washburn before completing a masters degree in sports administration at the University of Kansas. Friend is a member of the AVCA and the United States Volleyball Association and is married to Lewis womens volleyball head coach Lorelee Smith. The 2016 campaign marks the 12th season for Dan Friend at the helm of the Lewis University mens volleyball program. He is in his 19th season overall as a collegiate head coach and enters the season with a 380-201 overall record. Friend has accumulated a 221-114 record during his 11 years as head coach of Lewis. In that time, Friends student-athletes have earned 48 All-MIVA, 45 MIVA Player of the Week, four AVCA National Player of the Week and 13 AVCA All-American honors. Lewis has been ranked nationally in 109 of 117 AVCA Division I-II Top 15 Polls since the middle of the 2008 season. Friend has recorded non-conference victories over UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, Hawaii, Stanford, UC Irvine, Penn State, Long Beach State and BYU. 2015 was a record setting season for Lewis. Friend's Flyers went 27-4 to set a program record for fewest losses in a season. He was named the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year as well as the MIVA Coach of the Year. The Flyers won the MIVA regular season title and finished as national runner-up. Lewis earned a midseason No. 1 ranking in the AVCA Poll for the first time in program history. Five Flyers were named AVCA All-Americans Geoff Powell picking up first team honors. Eric Fitterer took home AVCA All-America Second Team accolades before earning the prestigious NCAA Elite 89 Award for his work in the classroom. Fitterer was also named a CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team selection.   Lewis advanced to the MIVA Championship in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Setter BJ Boldog was an AVCA All-American each year. The Flyers won the 2012 MIVA Tournament and advanced to the National Semifinals for the fourth time in program history. Lewis finished the season ranked sixth in the nation. The Flyers tied for the most wins in the country with 26. A year later, the Flyers earned a 2013 MIVA regular season title. In 2014 the Flyers again advanced to the MIVA title game and picked up one of two at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament play-in matches. Lewis was the first MIVA member to earn an NCAA al-large bid since 1994.   Neil Carey Arena has become a house of pain for opponents under Friend. Since 2008 the Flyers are 106-21 in Romeoville for an .834 win-percentage.   While Lewis breakthrough season came in 2012, the 2009 season may have been the turning point for Friends rebuilding efforts. The senior laden squad, made up of Friends first recruiting class, reached as high as No. 9 in the nation before finishing the season ranked No. 12 thanks to a 21-8 record. Individually, outside hitter Drew Pickering became Lewis first AVCA All-American in six seasons. His 4.15 kills per set led the MIVA and helped him become Lewis first MIVA Player of the Year in 10 seasons. Libero Nick Perakes became Lewis all-time leader in digs with 964. All told, five of Lewis seven starters earned All-MIVA selections.   Friends first taste of NCAA postseason play came in the fall of 2006 when he took over as interim head coach of the Lewis womens team and led the Flyers to their first conference championship in 14 years. The womens team went 17-3 under Friend, finishing with a 25-6 overall record and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Friend has served in various roles for USA Volleyball. In 2014 and 2015, Friend served as the head coach of the USA Mens Junior National Team. The squad earned the bronze medal at NORCECA in El Salvador in 2014 and competed at Worlds in Mexicali, Mexico in 2015. He was the head coach of the 2012 U.S. Boys Youth National Volleyball Team that earned a bronze in the NORCECA Boys Under-19 Continental Championship in Tijuana, Mexico. He served an assistant coach on the 2011 USA FIVB World Youth Championships team that competed in Argentina, the 2009 USA FIVB World Youth Championships team that competed in Italy and the 2008 Mens USA Volleyball Junior National Team. Friend helped the 2008 squad earn the bronze medal. He also coached and played for a college-age mens team called USA Athletes on four different summer tours. That team took first at the 2007 Scottish Open, 2004 Aruba Invitational and the 2002 Down Under Games (Australia). In 2003 the team finished third in the DKV Invitational (Netherlands). Before arriving at Lewis, Friend served as the mens and womens volleyball head coach at Newman University. Friend started the mens volleyball program at Newman in 2002 and led the team to the NAIA national championship match in its third year. He coached the Jets to a 20-win season in 2003 and was named NAIA National Coach of the Year after leading the 2004 squad to a 29-11 mark and national runner-up finish. He was inducted into Newman's Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 2, 2013 as a head coach and with his 2004 squad.  As Newmans womens head volleyball coach, Friend guided the program to 22 or more wins in each of his three seasons at the helm. He coached 15 all-conference, eight all-region and two All-America players. In 2003, the Jets posted a 32-8 overall record and 14-2 league mark. Friends combined record in the two positions, was 142-81 (.637), including a 66-40 (.623) record with the mens team. Before coaching at Newman, Friend spent three seasons as an assistant womens volleyball coach at Washburn University. Prior to that, Friend was a student assistant at Washburn for four years. Friend is a native of Topeka, Kan., and a graduate of Washburn University. He earned a bachelors degree in athletic training and exercise physiology at Washburn before completing a masters degree in sports administration at the University of Kansas. Friend is a member of the AVCA and the United States Volleyball Association and is married to Lewis womens volleyball head coach Lorelee Smith.

McCarthy is in his seventh season as an assistant coach with the Flyers in 2016. He was named the 2015 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year after helping Lewis finish as national runner-up.  The Flyers have a 135-50 record with McCarthy on the bench during his first six seasons. The Flyers have earned 12 AVCA All-America honors and 27 All-MIVA selections. Lewis won the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association in 2012 and took another trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2014. In 2015 Lewis finished as national runner-up with a 27-4 mark and a MIVA regular season title.   McCarthy graduated from Ball State in 2009 with a degree in marketing. He continued his education at Lewis, earning his MBA in 2012. McCarthy's involvement with USA Volleyball began in 2005 as a member of the USA Men's Junior National Team, which competed in India for the World Championships. He has experience with USA Volleyball's A3 Camps and A1 Camps at the USA High Performance Championships. In the summer you can find McCarthy on the beach volleyball circuit winning many local tournaments and earning several wins on the AVP Tour. McCarthy is a graduate of Wheaton Warrenville South High School and a native of Wheaton, Ill. He was inducted into the Wheaton Warrenville South Hall of Fame in 2014. Matt McCarthy Associate Head Coach Matt McCarthy is in his seventh season as an assistant coach with the Flyers in 2016. He was named the 2015 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year after helping Lewis finish as national runner-up.  The Flyers have a 135-50 record with McCarthy on the bench during his first six seasons. The Flyers have earned 12 AVCA All-America honors and 27 All-MIVA selections. Lewis won the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association in 2012 and took another trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2014. In 2015 Lewis finished as national runner-up with a 27-4 mark and a MIVA regular season title.   McCarthy graduated from Ball State in 2009 with a degree in marketing. He continued his education at Lewis, earning his MBA in 2012. McCarthy's involvement with USA Volleyball began in 2005 as a member of the USA Men's Junior National Team, which competed in India for the World Championships. He has experience with USA Volleyball's A3 Camps and A1 Camps at the USA High Performance Championships. In the summer you can find McCarthy on the beach volleyball circuit winning many local tournaments and earning several wins on the AVP Tour. McCarthy is a graduate of Wheaton Warrenville South High School and a native of Wheaton, Ill. He was inducted into the Wheaton Warrenville South Hall of Fame in 2014.