Jerry Abraham has set the absolute standard for how to build a women's volleyball program from scratch. The 2005 American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year and 2004 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame inductee has led the Crusaders to 12 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference titles in the last 14 years, 11 national tournament appearances, including a pair of national semi-final appearances in 2002 and 2005. The only head coach Madonna University has had, Abraham brings a 940-244 record into his and the program's 25th season in 2011.
Abraham has built the program literally from the ground up. In his 23 years at the helm the Crusaders have become the perennial Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference favorite and a national power. Abraham currently sits second all-time in the NAIA in wins with his 940, just 60 triumphs away from becoming a member of the ultra-exclusive 1,000-win club.
Abraham's success can be summed up by the events of 2004 when he was inducted into two separate Halls of Fame in the same year. In September 2004, Abraham became the lone member inducted into the inaugural class of the newly established Madonna Athletics Hall of Fame. As part of a surprise ceremony at the annual student-athlete convocation held at Madonna, Abraham was presented with the honor.
The athletic department at Madonna inducted Abraham on short notice to coincide with his induction into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame in December. Abraham was recognized by the NAIA in the Coaches Category as the then-third winningest NAIA volleyball coach all-time. He was inducted as part of the 2004 National Championship banquet held just prior to the National Tournament in San Diego, California.
Abraham directs the Madonna University volleyball program with a quiet yet reassuring confidence that is the unmistakable life blood of one of the nation's most successful programs. It is a confidence not gleaned from the shine of numerous trophies and accolades bestowed upon the coach and the program, though no one would question if it was. In 24 seasons at Madonna Abraham has collected wins at a staggering pace.
Never having posted less than 29 wins in a season, he earned his 900th career victory October 9, 2009, with a win against Pikeville (becoming only the second NAIA coach to reach the milestone) and has firmly entrenched the Crusaders among the elite programs in the nation.
Abraham does not reflect on past successes. "Fans can get spoiled very quickly in athletics and that's a problem," Abraham said. "It's not easy to be successful in anything when people get accustomed to specific results, it sometimes loses its effect on the players and they forget what it really takes to succeed and how important the journey really should be to their development."
Instead, Abraham addresses each new team and season on its own terms and his confidence lies in the ability and work ethic of his current players and coaching staff.
"I'm not much of a believer in predicting a team's level of success," said Abraham. "I can only state that we're going to do our best. If we're good enough to win matches then we're going to win matches, but if we lose it's not going to be because we didn't work hard and it's not going to be because we rested on our program's previous laurels."
For a good example of this statement, look no further than the 2003 season. Following the 2002 run to the "Final Four" the Crusaders had to deal with the loss of a pair of All-Americans, only to return to San Diego and a spot in the National Quarterfinals. The 2003 season saw Madonna capture its second-consecutive perfect WHAC regular season (and seventh straight conference title), becoming the first team in conference history to pull off the feat. In addition, the 2003 Crusaders extended their home winning streak to 33 straight games (before falling to Cornerstone in the WHAC tournament), eclipsing the previous standard set from 1991-92.
During the first 24 seasons of Madonna volleyball the team has never finished below .500 and has averaged nearly 43 wins per year. Abraham has amassed 940 wins and a .795 career winning percentage. Under his watch 11 Crusader squads ('93, '95, '96, '00, '02, '03, '04, '05 ,'06, '07 and '08) have advanced to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. Additionally, Madonna has been ranked in the NAIA Top 25 at some point during every season since 1993.
While the team's goals are the most important to Abraham and his staff, his teams have seen their fare share of individual accolades as a result of success. Abraham's teams have produced 12 NAIA first team All-Americans, 13 second team All-Americans, five third team All-Americans and 15 honorable mention All-Americans. Also, Crusader volleyball players have been named NAIA All-America Scholar-Athletes 35 times in Abraham's career. In addition, two of Abraham's student-athletes have earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, the highest academic and athletic honor a student-athlete can earn.
Abraham's philosophy of a Madonna Volleyball family is readily apparent in the continued involvement of former players. Coach Abraham has built a solid program both on and off the court.
Madonna joined the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) in 1997 and Abraham promptly guided his squad to both the conference regular season and playoff championships in 1997 and 1998.
The Crusaders again won the regular season championship in 1999 before dropping their first-ever WHAC postseason match. Responding to this adversity, the Crusaders rebounded to win both the WHAC regular-season and tournament titles again in 2000. The next season saw the Crusaders take the regular season title before capturing the regular season and tournament titles in 2002 en route to the program's first ever NAIA Final Four berth.
The most successful season yet came in 2005 when Abraham guided his team to a 48-2 record and another berth in the NAIA Final Four. The Crusaders advanced to the NAIA national semi-finals, falling to eventual National Champion California Baptist in five games, but finished the season as the third best team in the country. The 2005 sweep of the regular season and WHAC tournament titles was the second in a streak of five straight seasons that MU has won both the regular season and tournament crowns.
In 12 of the first 14 seasons the Crusaders have been WHAC members, Abraham guided his troops to an outright or shared conference championship. The Crusaders are 159-14 in regular season WHAC play and have dropped just four conference postseason matches. In 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006, Abraham's troops pulled off one of the most impressive runs in WHAC history, not losing a single set en route to perfect conference seasons.
Abraham has been named NAIA District 23 Coach-of-the-Year three times, Great Lakes Sectional Coach-of-the-Year twice, WHAC Coach-of-the-Year twice and Great Lakes Region Coach-of-the-Year twice and added NAIA Region VIII Coach-of-the-Year honors as well in 2006. Additionally, in 1994 Abraham took over the softball program at Madonna and led the Crusaders to the NAIA World Series - meaning he took two separate teams to the NAIA National Tournament during the same academic year.
Prior to his days at Madonna, Abraham compiled a 270-70 record at Bishop Borgess High School in Redford, Michigan. His Borgess teams won five district titles, three regional crowns, three Catholic League championships and finished Class A state runner-up in 1986 and Class B state runner-up in 1988. He has been named to the Borgess High School Hall of Fame as well as the Detroit Catholic League Hall of Fame.
Abraham earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Michigan University (1976) with a major in Physical Education, a minor in English and Health Science and an Elementary Teaching Certificate. He went on to earn his master's degree in Guidance and Counseling, also from EMU. Currently, Abraham is a high school guidance counselor at Truman High in Taylor.
Long time assistant coach Tim DeBeliso returns for his 15th season on the bench at Madonna University.
DeBeliso has built a reputation as one of the top assistant coaches in the country. His impact on the Crusaders' success during his first 14 seasons is most evident in the accomplishments of MU's setters, whom he has the responsibility of training and teaching.
Among DeBeliso’s pupils have been three Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Setters of the Year – Ashley Frost, Inta Grinvalds and 2010 winner Evia Prieditis. Grinvalds and Frost sit in the top two spots all-time in assists at MU and both earned All-America honors under DeBeliso’s guidance with Frost being a three-time selection.
DeBeliso focuses on all aspects of the game with the players. This includes working on techniques and styles for each position. His commitment to the success of the program is evidenced by the many hours he logs, as well as the extra work he does to help improve each individual. He can be seen working with individual players after regular practice hours many nights.
Coach DeBeliso completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Eastern Michigan University and is currently a Claims Manager for AAA Michigan. He resides in Livonia with his wife Carol.
In his 21st season, Brian McClain continues to work hand-in-hand with Jerry Abraham while overseeing many of the logistics of the Madonna Volleyball program. In addition to his role as an assistant coach, McClain serves as the Director of Volleyball Operations, handling all aspects of travel for the Crusaders. When it comes to plane tickets, hotel reservations and tour guides, Brian plays an integral role.
In addition to his duties with Madonna, Brian has acted as the NAIA Sectional Coordinator and Regional rater the past several seasons and will continue his role as conference and national rater in 2010.
McClain is also a co-director of the Madonna AAU program. The Crusader Juniors Volleyball program has proven to be an enormous asset to many young athletes in and around the area for many years. This program has allowed many players the additional opportunity to demonstrate their skill and talent to college coaches across the country.
With a number of former players now attending universities across the country on volleyball scholarships, Crusader Juniors has become one of the most recognized junior programs in the country. Most importantly, it has given many young women the opportunity to continue in the fun of competitive volleyball.
When not helping run one of the top teams in the nation, Brian is the owner of BLT Sportswear and Apparel of Livonia. McClain and his wife Lynn have one son, Trevor - a junior at MU this fall - and the family resides in Livonia.
Former Madonna All-American Tera (Morrill) Woodruff returns for her third season on the Crusader bench in 2011.
Woodruff lettered at MU from 2000-2004 and was named to the NAIA All-American team in 2002 after helping the Crusaders to the NAIA Final Four for the first time in program history. In addition to taking home a pair of all-region honors as well as being a three-time All-WHAC first team selection from 2002-04, Woodruff was twice named to the All-WHAC academic and the NAIA All-American Scholar Athlete teams. She currently ranks in the top-10 of four records at MU including total kills, attacks, service aces and digs.
Since her graduation from the university, Woodruff has been coaching at Crestwood High School in nearby Dearborn Heights in addition to coaching the Crusader Junior AAU program. The head varsity volleyball coach for five seasons, Woodruff has seen a number of her former pupils move on to the college ranks, including former Crusader Amanda Lenart. In addition to her coaching duties, Woodruff is starting her sixth year as a teacher in the math department at Crestwood.
"The volleyball program at Madonna University is considered one of the NAIA's best," said Woodruff. "It is a perennial Top 25 finisher and in contention for a national championship year in and year out. As a former player for Coach Abraham, I understand the dedication and hard work needed to keep this program running at the highest level. I am excited about the opportunity and am looking forward to continuing my coaching career at the collegiate level."
Woodruff and her husband Chris - a former All-American baseball player at Madonna - reside in Livonia with their infant daughter Payton..
