WILMORE, Ky. (MadonnaCrusaders.com) - - A story that started 23 years ago with a bag of volleyballs, a used net and enough players to field a team added another huge chapter Friday (Oct. 9) night as Madonna University head volleyball coach Jerry Abraham became just the second coach in NAIA history to win 900 matches as his Crusaders downed Pikeville College 3-0 (25-8, 25-13, 25-12) at the Asbury College Classic inside the Luce Center.

"I can clearly remember win No. 1 and 900 wins later it is just as exciting," said Abraham just minutes after the final point fell to the floor on a kill from Anastasija Seremetjeva (Riga, Latvia). "The best part about this one is that we played so well as a team tonight. That's the important thing."

When the Madonna University program started the critics said it would be impossible to win at a small school with no athletic history. Abraham did not let that stop him as he took a program that did not exist six years earlier to its first NAIA National Tournament in 1993. Since then Abraham's teams have made 11 trips to the national tournament including seven straight from 2002-2008.

Abraham's .795 winning percentage ranks among the best to coach the game at any level. The only head coach in Madonna volleyball history has seen over 50 of his players honored as All-Americans while seeing his squad win at least a share of 12 straight Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference titles since joining the league in 1997. The Crusaders spent a WHAC record 90 consecutive weeks in the NAIA's Top-25 Coach's Poll before dropping out for a week in 2007. After seeing two of his teams make runs to the NAIA Final Four (2002, 2005) Abraham received the highest honor the NAIA bestows, being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004. Prior to his NAIA Hall of Fame induction in December of 2004, Abraham became the first ever inductee to the Madonna University Athletics Hall of Fame that September.

But it isn't just the victories, the National Tournament appearances, the rankings or even the trips to the Final Four that makes Abraham the hall of famer he is. It is the lives he has touched, the friendships made and the quality student-athletes he has molded over the years.

Pouring over countless photos for the latest volleyball media guide, I could not help but notice that while the clothes were a little different and there was a bit more hair on everyone's head I saw the same people in the stands back in the early days of the program I see now. Jerry Abraham has built a true family at Madonna and built it with volleyball.

You have to be doing something right to win and win as consistently as Jerry has. You have to be doing something exceptional to have the type of continued support from former student-athletes, coaches, parents and fans that the volleyball program enjoys.

You see during every timeout, after every practice after every team gathering, the volleyball program uses the same word to break their huddle - "WE". It is a single word showing that together they are strong, separated they are weak, but ultimately win or lose, they are a family.

Jerry has coached over 50 All-Americans in his time here but what many do not realize is that almost all of them still contact their old coach just to talk, seek advice or simply take in a game and cheer on their alma mater.

Trust in yourself, support your teammates and above all, play for the name on the front, not on the back is what exemplifies Madonna University volleyball. Jerry has led by example and it shows.

Needing just 21 wins coming into the season Abraham saw his Crusaders dominate from the first serve, holding the Bears to a .000 hitting percentage while connecting .352 rate themselves. Seremetjeva ended the night as the only Crusader in double figures as she led MU with a career best 14 kills. Inta Grinvalds (Portage, Mich.) handed out 39 assists while Amanda Koszela (Dearborn, Mich.) posted 11 digs. Whitney Whitson led PC with six kills.

The first set was all Madonna from the start as the Crusaders built out a 10-3 lead using a pair of kills from both Karie Altman (Taylor, Mich.) and Seremetjeva in the early run. After a PC timeout the two sides traded points until MU went up 20-8 on a kill from Katie Czarnecki (Chesterfield, Mich.). A 5-0 run - sparked by two kills from Czarnecki and back-to-back aces from Anastasija Baranovska (Riga, Latvia) - gave Madonna a 25-8 win.

Set two of the match was much like set one as the Crusaders established their dominance early, using a pair Mary McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) kills along with kills from Marie Martin (Canton, Mich.) and Altman to take an early 10-5 lead. The lead grew to 21-9 with three points coming off of the right arm of Seremetjeva and two more terminations each from McGinnis and Martin to hold the 12-point edge. After PC pulled to with in 10 at 23-13, MU got back-to-back kills from Baranovska and Seremetjeva to put the set away at 25-13.

MU trailed 2-0 early in the final set but that deficit was quickly overcome as the Crusaders went on a 10-3 run behind a host of kills and a service ace from Megan Fricke (Wyandotte, Mich.). A McGinnis kill made it 19-9 and that kill sparked a 4-0 MU run to push the lead to 23-9. A Fricke kill gave MU match point but PC staved off the end of the match for three points before another Seremetjeva ended the match and gave MU a 25-12 win for the 3-0 sweep.

Story by Patrick Moore with assistance from Matt Fancett

Contact: Patrick Moore (734) 432-5834