Grand Valley State University Volleyball Camps
Deanne Scanlon is entering her 16th season as the head coach of the Grand Valley State volleyball team. Just the second coach in GVSU history, she has led the Lakers through the past 15 seasons, posting a 403-115 (.778) overall mark. Scanlon has guided Laker teams to a 217-52 (.807) GLIAC record. She has led the Lakers to fifteen straight winning seasons, twelve seasons with at least 20 wins, and six years with 30 or more wins. GVSU finished the 2009 campaign with a 16-13 overall record, posting an 11-5 mark in GLIAC play. The Lakers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight season, falling in the Midwest Region quarterfinals. In a 3-0 victory over Missouri-St. Louis on Oct. 17, Scanlon recorded her 400th career victory, giving her an average of nearly 27 wins per season during her career. The Lakers tallied a 33-4 overall record with a 15-1 GLIAC mark in 2008, falling to eventual national champion, Concordia-St. Paul, in the NCAA Final Four. It was Grand Valley State's fifth trip in program history to the national semifinals, all of which have come since 2001. GVSU has totaled back-to-back years of more than 30 victories twice (2002-03 and 2007-08). In addition to winning the GLIAC North Division title for the fifth straight year, Grand Valley State also captured the GLIAC Tournament and NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament Championships. Grand Valley State tied the 2001 school record for consecutive victories in 2008, rattling off 22 straight wins from Sept. 5 to Nov. 1. The Lakers also extended the team record for consecutive home wins, as GVSU totaled 37 straight victories at Fieldhouse Arena from Oct. 7, 2006 (against Hillsdale) to Sept. 12, 2009 (against Wayne State).
The Lakers won the final three games over second-seed Lewis to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight for the sixth time in eight seasons. The victory gave Grand Valley State 33 wins for the year, the highest single-season total since 1986 and the most ever under Scanlon. GVSU won its first game at the Elite Eight against West Texas A&M before dropping the next two games. The Lakers rallied to win game four before falling in a heartbreaking finish in game five, 22-20. Following the season, Scanlon was awarded her fifth Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year award. In 2006, Scanlon helped the Lakers clinch their seventh straight Great Lakes Region Tournament berth. She guided Grand Valley State to a 27-4 overall record and a 17-1 league mark. GVSU defeated Lewis 3-1 in the quarterfinal match, but dropped a 3-2 decision to SIU-Edwardsville to end the Lakers' hopes for defending their National Championship. Scanlon led the Lakers to the programs' first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship in 2005, as they defeated Nebraska-Kearney, 3-1 (30-18, 30-27, 25-30, 30-24), in the championship match. It marked the fifth time in six years GVSU made a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championships. The Lakers won the title at the host institution, Nebraska-Kearney, in front of the largest crowd in Division II history with 5,025 fans. Going into the match, the Lopers were the top-ranked team in the country and had won 66 consecutive home matches. The championship marked the first for a women's sport at Grand Valley State. Scanlon guided GVSU to a 32-6 overall record and a 15-3 league mark during the 2005 season. After the year, she was named the 2005 AVCA National Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. The 32 wins tied the most-ever by a Scanlon squad at the time. En route to the National Championship, Grand Valley State won both the GLIAC Tournament and Great Lakes Region Championships. 2004 saw Scanlon lead Grand Valley State to a 27-7 overall record and a 16-2 GLIAC tally. GVSU earned the #1 seed in the North Division of the GLIAC Tournament, but fell to Ferris State in the championship match. Grand Valley State advanced to the Great Lakes Region Tournament for the fifth consecutive season, earning the right to host the tournament. The Lakers advanced to the semifinal match, but fell, 3-1, to Northern Michigan. During the 2003 season, Scanlon guided the Lakers to a 30-8 overall record with a 16-2 conference mark. GVSU won its fourth consecutive Great Lakes Regional Championship, earning their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Lakers advanced to the Final Four for the third year in a row before falling, 3-1, to eventual national champion North Alabama. In 2002, she led the Lakers to a 32-3 record and a 17-1 mark in the GLIAC. The Lakers won their second league title in three years. Following the 2002 season, Scanlon received the Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year award, the third straight season she had received the honor.
That performance earned Scanlon Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year plaudits for the second consecutive season and GLIAC Coach the Year honors for the first time in her career. The 2000 campaign resulted in a 31-4 overall record and a GLIAC Championship, the first under Scanlon. 2000 also marked the school's first-ever NCAA Elite Eight appearance and Scanlon earned Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors for the first time in her coaching career. Scanlon led GVSU to a 27-7 overall record and a 15-4 mark in the GLIAC for the 1999 campaign. In 1998, the Lakers finished 24-12 overall and posted a 15-4 conference mark. In her 15 years at Grand Valley State, Scanlon has guided 14 All-Americans, including five Verizon Academic All-Americans, 29 All-Midwest Region honorees, 56 All-GLIAC selections, 28 First Team All-GLIAC choices, three GLIAC Player of the Year honorees, three GLIAC Libero of the Year winners, and one GLIAC Freshman of the Year. Prior to her arrival at Grand Valley State, Scanlon was an assistant coach at Western Michigan University. In addition to her coaching duties at WMU, Scanlon was head coach of the Kalamazoo Junior Volleyball Association. Prior to Western Michigan, she was an assistant at Wayne State (1984-87) and Concordia College (1992-94). In college, Scanlon was a four-year starter at Eastern Kentucky University. She earned All-America status and was chosen Female Athlete of the Year in 1983. Scanlon graduated in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in Physical and Health Education. After graduating from Eastern Kentucky, she played on the U.S. Women's National Team for coaches Arie Sellinger and John Corbell. She also spent a full decade as a player in the United States Volleyball Association, twice earning All-America honors. Scanlon also played on a Women's Senior Division team that was national runner-up in 1993. Scanlon was born in Zanesville, Ohio and played volleyball, basketball, and ran track at West Muskingum High School. After her decorated high school career, she was inducted into West Muskingum's Athletic Hall of Fame. Her coaching career began at the high school level, as the head coach at Saline High School for two seasons before joining the Western Michigan staff. Scanlon posted an overall record of 61-14-11 as a high school coach. While at Saline, she also coached an AAU team of top 18-year olds. In 2002, Scanlon also coached a 16-year old USVA team to a state championship and a fourth-place finish at the national tournament. Deanne and her husband, Jim, reside in Jenison, with their two children, Meghan (22) and Jack (20). |
Deanne Scanlon
In 2007, Grand Valley State lived up to lofty standards and continued its recent dominance, posting a 33-4 overall record and going 17-1 in the GLIAC for the second straight year. The Lakers won the GLIAC and Great Lakes Regional tournaments, which were both hosted at GVSU.
Scanlon took GVSU to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals in 2001. She also led the 2001 squad to a school-record 22 consecutive victories and a 17-1 GLIAC record, tops in the conference.