LONGTIME VOLLEYBALL ASSISTANT WEIDI ZHANG’S RETIREMENT CELEBRATION SET FOR MAY 23

5/5/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Longtime Sacramento State assistant volleyball coach Weidi Zhang’s retirement celebration is set for Sunday, May 23, at 5:30 p.m., at the Alumni Center on campus.

Cost is $20 per person, and guests wishing to attend can RSVP by May 14 by calling the volleyball office at 916-278-6427 or emailing schleban@csus.edu.

One of the most well-liked and respected members of the athletics department, the always-smiling Zhang has spent 23 years as an assistant with the volleyball team, as well as teaching volleyball classes at Sacramento State. In the fall, he announced that he would retire at the end of the academic year.

In his 23 years with the volleyball team, Zhang assisted under former head coach Debby Colberg (1987-2007) and current head coach Ruben Volta (2008-09). Over that span, Sacramento State combined for a 584-251 record (.699 winning percentage), 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, nine Big Sky Tournament titles and eight Big Sky regular season championships. That included a run of six straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and 10 over a span of 11 years (1997-00, 2002-07).

One of Zhang’s coaching specialties was working with the setters, and he helped groom a pair of All-American setters (Karen Henderson and Christine Seifert), two Big Sky MVP setters (Maureen Rafferty and Lisa Beauchene), and four players currently in the Hornet Volleyball Hall of Fame (Henderson, Seifert, Rafferty and Suzie Severyn).

In all, Zhang helped coach Sacramento State players to 12 All-American awards, six Big Sky MVPs and 49 Big Sky all-conference selections (including 22 first teamers).

In addition to assisting with the women’s team, Zhang was also head coach of the Sacramento State men’s club volleyball team for 13 seasons (1989-01) where he led the squad to numerous top 10 finishes and two NIRSA Div. I national championships (1995, 1997). Volta played for Zhang on that 1995 national-championship winning team.

Prior to his Sacramento State tenure, Zhang had stints as head coach of both the Shanghai women’s professional team (1985-87) and men’s professional team (1980-83, 1985-87), as well as the Nigerian National Team (1979-80). Additionally, Zhang spent time as an assistant coach with the Chinese National Team (1983-85).

During his playing days, he was the starting setter and captain of the Chinese National Team in 1975.