Aug. 9, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's volleyball assistant coach Colin McMillan has been promoted to Associate Head Coach as announced by head coach Mark Pavlik Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm obviously very pleased," said McMillan. "I'm just happy that I get to continue the path that I've been going on for almost 10-years here at Penn State. I look forward to taking on the added responsibility and doing what I can do help the program."
"For 10-years you have somebody who has made it his yearly goal to get better at something," said head coach MarkPavlik.
"He has really picked up everything that we need from an assistant coach," Pavlik continued. "Now I can start giving him even more things from a budgetary standpoint and such to truly help and guide this program together. Colin is totally capable of being a head coach right now, and I want to make sure that I can give him everything that he needs so that when he does take that next step he is as prepared as anyone is going to be. He has the respect of his peers and colleagues around the country. USA Volleyball knows what they have in him with asking him to run the youth teams, the high performance teams and tournaments. He's paid his dues and he's reached a point in his career relatively quickly, where he's comfortable with knowing what he needs to know and more importantly knowing what he doesn't know. I can't say enough about him, I want to keep him here as long as he wants to be. It's fun coaching, but to come in to this office with him and Ryan (Walthall) makes it more fun every day that I can do it. It's a well-deserved and he definitely earned it."
McMillan, who begins his 10th-year with Penn State, is involved in all aspects of the program, including opponent video breakdown, training the middle hitters and blocking defense
McMillan, a former standout at Ohio State from 1997-2000, has trained within the United States National pipeline and competed internationally for various clubs around the world. A 6'-11" middle hitter, McMillan was a member of the 2001 United States team that captured the gold medal at the World University Games in Beijing, China, and also was a member of the U.S. World League team in 2001. From 2000-2005, he was the starting middle hitter for the Besiktas Volleyball Club in Istanbul, Turkey and also played for Castelo da Maia in Portugal, Marseille 13PVB in France and Los Rebeldes de Moca in Puerto Rico, winning the Superior League Championship in 2000.
McMillan has also coached internationally with USAV. He assisted the Junior Men's National Team in winning the NORCECA qualifying tournament in Gatineau, Canada in 2010. Most recently, McMillan was an assistant coach for the U.S. Junior National team, which finished fourth in the 2011 World Junior Championships in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
McMillan is a four-time All-MIVA selection and a four-year scholar athlete at Ohio State. Named to the 2000 National Collegiate Championship All-Tournament Team, McMillan led the Buckeyes to a national runner-up title that year and finished among the top five in hitting percentage all four years. He is the career record holder at OSU in hitting percentage (.481), block assists (473) and total blocks (548) and sits eighth in aces (59), second in blocks per game (1.56) and seventh in kills (1,206). During McMillan's tenure, the Buckeyes accumulated a 90-21 overall record with three first-places finishes in the MIVA.
A graduate assistant coach for Ohio State during the 2003 season, McMillan has also served as a club coach for several programs, most recently coaching the Excel Volleyball Club 18 boys program in Glenview, Ill. He guided the Next Level 16 boys program in Franklin, Wis., in 2005 and 2006 and coached and supervised the Stellar Sports LLC 15 girls club team in Colorado Springs, Colo., with duties including practice and match coaching as well as travel and on-site supervision.
McMillan graduated from Ohio State in 2000 with a double major in international business and marketing, and has worked outside of the volleyball community with such corporations as DePuy Orthopedics and Cosentino North America.
For more on Nittany Lion men's volleyball, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateMVBall.