Brian Solomon was named Southern States Athletic Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year for the 2009 season.  The award was presented at the volleyball conference tournament banquet, held at Lee University on Thursday, November 12.  Solomon was voted top coach by his conference peers after his team earned a 24-8 record in regular season play and finished with a third place conference ranking, the highest in recent history for a Columbia College athletic team.  “The athletic department members are incredibly proud of Brian and the volleyball team for their success this season, but I am especially proud of their great sportsmanship on the court this season.  Brian has worked hard to help his athletes learn to play with character and I applaud his efforts,” said Director of Athletics, Ana Oliver.  Solomon is in his third year as head coach of the Fighting Koalas volleyball program and also serves as the department’s sports information director.  
 
The volleyball team earned several other awards this season including Freshman of the Year honors for newcomer Tara Prater; 1st Team All-Conference awards for first-year students Aarika Munro and Tara Prater; 2nd Team All-Conference honors for Sophomores Erica Allman, Jennifer Monroe and Liz Richardson; All-Academic Team awards for Sophomores Ashley Hasty and Liz Richardson; and Champions of Character award for Ashley Hasty.  Additionally, the team was co-winner of the conference Sportsmanship Award for volleyball along with top-ranked Lee University.  “I am very proud of our team’s effort this season. They demonstrated great character and competed at a high level all season. It was an outstanding accomplishment to have so many players recognized on the conference level, as well as the team sportsmanship award,” said Solomon.