Val Swanson, retired Ridgewater College Volleyball coach, will be inducted into the NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this month.
The ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 14 at Council Bluffs, Iowa, during the Division I volleyball championship banquet.
Swanson guided the college program in Willmar from 1980-2005, when she turned the reins over to step-son Joe Sussenguth.
Her teams earned five Minnesota Community College Conference state championships, six Region 13 championships, and six NJCAA National Tournament visits. Her 2002 team took first and the 2005 team was runner-up. The Lady Warriors were also third twice and second in 1998.
She finished with 736 match wins. Others accolades include 2002 Division III Coach of the Year, 2003 MCCC Coach of the Year and six Region 13 Coach of the Year awards.
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She has also received the Southwest Minnesota State University Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2004 was a West Central Tribune Hall of Fame selection.
Swanson, who also served as head women's basketball coach and athletic director at Ridgewater College, has been active promoting volleyball through Junior Olympics and as a board member of state and national organizations.
Currently, she teaches a course in physical education at both the Willmar and Hutchinson campuses in addition to coordinating the License for Alcohol/Drug Counseling program.
Other inductees are Terry Gamble, Iowa Western CC; Palina Steffkova, Jefferson College (Missouri); Brenda Winekler of Parkland College (Illinois).
