Giesselmann Accepts Head Coaching Job at Midland Lutheran
5/18/2010 8:00:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Paul Giesselmann, a member of the Creighton Volleyball staff the past seven years, has accepted the head coaching position at Midland Lutheran College. Midland Lutheran is an NAIA school located in Fremont, Neb., about 45 minutes northwest of Omaha, where Giesselmann resides.
Giesselmann was a part of head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth's inaugural staff at Creighton and has helped the team go 120-89 since then. Promoted to associate head coach four years ago, Giesselmann served as the team's recruiting coordinator and also worked closely with All-American middle blockers Kelly Goc (2007) and Jessica Houts (2008) in recent seasons.
"I'm really excited about the opportunity to go to Midland," said Giesselmann. "It's a tough decision to make because I've really enjoyed the seven years I've had here at Creighton University. The thing that makes Creighton special is the people. It's the administration, starting with Bruce Rasmussen. It's really been a pleasure to work under his leadership. I really appreciate the opportunity that Kirsten gave me for seven years to work with Angie Oxley Behrens and have a big role in the development of this program. To see it move into the Ryan Athletic Center and D.J. Sokol Arena was really a big highlight for me personally. The opportunity to work with the young ladies here at Creighton has been a privilege. As the middle blockers coach I've had the chance to work with some outstanding middles during my seven years here. It's been a great ride but in the end I really had to step back and look at what was best for my family, and the opportunity to be five minutes away from the campus and get to my kids' activities is something that is very important to me at this point in my life."
Before coming to Creighton, Giesselmann was a head coach for eight years at the College of St. Mary's, where he went 227-80 and won seven league titles.
"Paul has been an integral part of developing what we've done over the last seven years," said Booth. "I think the biggest thing that I have always liked about Paul is his character. He's a good man. I think this is a great opportunity for him to go back to head coaching, but also it's so nice to be in close proximity to home. He's got young kids that he wants to be around a little bit more. We're excited about this opportunity for him. I think anytime you deal with a change of staff it leads to new opportunities for the program. We think it's a great position in a great program and we're going to find someone great to step into his shoes."
