Courtesy: Lindenwood-Belleville Athletics
BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The Lindenwood University – Belleville athletic department has announced the resignation of Women’s volleyball Head Coach Chris Phillips as former Assistant Coach Bron Wilkerson will be the interim head coach for the 2018-19 Lady Lynx season.
“It was exciting to be able to start fresh, get the program on the right track, going the right direction, and be successful,” Phillips said. “I think this group is a great group of players that work so hard and they really want to win. They are always open to new coaching ideas that either myself or Coach Wilkerson has to teach, so it made them a very good group right off the bat. I think that this is going to be a very fun year for them and a turning point.”
The Lady Lynx have been preparing for a couple years now with the veteran leadership of senior Kourtney Knox, senior defensive specialist Brianah Munoz, and junior right side Diana Shamroski to propel the team to the American Midwest Conference championship. During the 2017-18 season, the Lady Lynx managed a 7-4 record in conference play under Phillips. Chris Phillips coached the Lady Lynx
to a 7-4 conference record last year.
“It’s hard to say goodbye to someone like Chris Phillips and what she meant to our women’s volleyball program,” Athletic Director Ryan Kaiser said. “She has put us on trajectory to make an impact this year in the AMC. I could not be more pleased that our head men’s coach Bron Wilkerson will immediately step in as the interim head coach for our women’s program this year. He has worked closely with this program since he arrived and is the obvious choice to continue to build upon the success that Coach Phillips had. Coach Wilkerson will also remain our head men’s coach for the upcoming year. He will recruit and coach each team and at some point we will reevaluate where we are and make the best decision for our university…but until then, he is our coach for both programs.”
Wilkerson enters his second season at Lindenwood-Belleville after being an assistant coach at Maryville University between 2011-16. Prior to joining the Saints, he was the head volleyball coach at Norte Dame High School in 2009 and 2010.
Wilkerson has been involved with the game of volleyball since 1994. He started his career as a competitive two man beach volleyball player where he traveled the country competing in AVP qualifiers. He’s won several semi-professional titles as well as winning the AVA American Airlines Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma for two years in a row, which earned him a bid to compete at the AVA National Championship Tournament in Santa Barbara, California.
The Lindenwood-Belleville athletic department is hopeful that the Lady Lynx continue showing improvement with the promotion of Coach Wilkerson and the blend of youth and veteran leadership.
The Lady Lynx will begin their 2018-19 season on Friday, August 17 when they travel to Brunswick, Georgia to face the College of Coastal Georgia Mariners with the start time TBA.
Fans make sure to stay updated on lindenwoodlynx.com throughout the 2018 offseason for full updates and recaps on the Women’s volleyball team.
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