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Rob Beam

Position: Head Coach Experience: 5th Yr. Alma Mater: Clarke College, '96

Rob Beam enters his fifth year as the head coach for volleyball at Oakland University. The Golden Grizzlies have made remarkable strides under Beam, guiding the program to 50 wins, surpassing the 48 wins in eight seasons prior to his arrival in Rochester.

He has also led OU to back-to-back top-four finishes in The Summit League, never finishing higher than fifth prior to his arrival. The Golden Grizzlies have finished in the top 40 in NCAA Division I in digs per set in three of his four seasons. In 2010, the program achieved an all-time best by finishing 16th in the country. His liberos have been played a major roll in these numbers as Lauren Duquette and Brittany Dunn have both finished inside the top 40 in this category. Duquette finished 13th and 11th, respectively in her final two seasons under Beam. Finally, in 2009, Adrienne Leone finished in the top 50 in kills per set.

The Golden Grizzlies have received significant individual commendations during his tenure as well. He coached Oakland's first two All-Summit League first team selections (Adrienne Leone - 2009, Brittany Dunn - 2010) as well as the first player to win an individual player of the year award (Dunn - Defensive Player of the Year - 2010). Additionally, both Leone and Dunn were also named Hollie L. Lepley Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in back-to-back seasons. This award is the most prestigious honor given to an Oakland University student-athlete.

The program has also thrived academically since his arrival. In his first year he led the team to a marked improvement surpassing the 3.0 grade point average mark. In 2009-10 the Golden Grizzlies posted better than a 3.3 cumulative GPA earned a first-ever American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award.

Before coming to Oakland, Beam spent two years with Illinois State, making an immediate impact on the Redbirds' liberos and defensive specialists. Under his guidance during his last season at ISU, the Redbirds set a new school record of 2,291 digs, finishing ninth in the nation in digs per game and breaking an Illinois State record that was 22 years old. In his first season in Normal he mentored the Missouri Valley Conference Libero of the Year, Ashley Grubb, who led the league in digs per game. During Beam's two seasons at Illinois State the Redbirds had a combined record of 35-25 (.583).

Prior to Illinois State, Beam earned rave reviews as a recruiter, scout, administrator and strategist at Wright State. During Beam's five seasons in Dayton, Ohio, the Raiders ranked in the top 15 in the NCAA in digs per game three different times: seventh in 2003, eighth in 2001 and 15th in 2002. They also achieved a best-ever win percentage of .750 in 2001.

Beam has extensive club volleyball experience, having coached with both Adversity Volleyball Club and Dayton Juniors. His 2002 Blue Angels age 17 team took third in the Open Division at the Junior Olympic National Championships. He also served as Master Coach for the 16-18 age groups and wrote "Principles for a Competitive Practice," a guide to be used to help develop the club's coaches.

A native of Sycamore, Ill., Beam was an assistant for both men's and women's volleyball at Quincy University from 1999-2000 before joining the Wright State staff the following year. He was the Raiders' associate head coach for two seasons prior to coming to Illinois State.

A 1992 Glenbrook South (Ill.) High School graduate, Beam was the 1996 Clarke College Athlete of the Year while serving as captain of the volleyball team. While completing his bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1996, he coached high school volleyball at Dubuque (Iowa) Senior High School.

Beam has also been a leader with the AVCA in both service and research. His presentation at the 2001 AVCA Convention entitled, "Maximizing Coverage at the Point of Attack" has subsequently been published in both Coaching Volleyball Magazine and "Best of Coaching Volleyball Volume 2."

He lives in Rochester Hills with his wife, Maria, who is also a part of the Oakland University family as she is the Director of Field Placement and Student Services for the Social Work Program. They are currently expecting their first child later in 2011.