Anna Moreno Allison Named Assistant Volleyball Coach at Bucknell
7/20/2005 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
July 20, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell head volleyball coach Cindy Opalski has announced the hiring of Anna Moreno Allison as assistant coach. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil and a member of a prominent volleyball family, Moreno Allison is a 2004 graduate of Oral Roberts University where she was one of the top setters in Golden Eagles' history.
Moreno Allison was a First Team All-Mid Continent Conference selection three times and was named Setter of the Year in 2000 and 2002. As a senior in 2002 she shattered the Oral Roberts career assists record as well as the Mid-Con career service aces record. Oral Roberts won four straight league titles and played in four NCAA Tournaments during her playing days. A two-time team captain, Moreno Allison was also an outstanding student and earned Scholar-Athlete honors while successfully completing degrees in advertising and marketing communications.
A lifelong student of the sport of volleyball, Moreno Allison's enthusiasm and commitment to the game was influenced by her father, Antonio Carlos Moreno, who played for the Brazilian national team for 16 years and participated in four Olympic Games. Anna's twin brother, Carlos, was an All-America setter who earned AVCA Player of the Year honors while leading BYU to the 2004 NCAA men's national championship.
"I am extremely excited to have Anna join our program," said Opalski. "She has literally grown up around the sport of volleyball, and our program will benefit tremendously from her experience and pedigree. As a scholar-athlete at Oral Roberts, Anna also has a keen understanding of the commitment Bison student-athletes have to their academic work."
In 2003-04 Moreno Allison served as graduate assistant coach at Oral Roberts, where she worked closely with the Golden Eagles' setters and assisted in scouting and recruiting. Throughout her undergraduate career she coached the ORU Club team, featuring players aged 12 to 18, as well as the 16-18 Tulsa Volleyball Club. In her native Brazil, Moreno Allison has been a regular coach at the Sao Paulo Volleyball Camp and has worked as director, recruiting manager and coach with the Moreno Corp.
Moreno Allison joins a Bucknell team that has been one of the Patriot League's best over the last decade. The Bison finished 14-13 overall and 8-6 in the PL in 2004, and they have averaged nearly 17 wins per season since 1993. Bucknell has participated in the Patriot League Tournament in 14 of 15 years, including tournament wins and NCAA bids in 1998 and 2000.
Bucknell sponsors 27 intercollegiate sports, including 14 for women, at the Division I level (I-AA football). It is a charter member of the Patriot League and has won the league's all-sports championship in 11 of the 15 years it has been contested. Bucknell led the nation with a 100 percent graduation rate in the 2003 survey and ranks third in Division I in producing Academic All-Americans.