Jan. 6, 2017
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State is represented by three Olympians on the first Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame induction list for ceremonies on Sunday night, May 7 at the Highway 39 Event Center in Anaheim. The HOF will be housed at American Sports Centers in Anaheim.
Former San Diego State All-American Chris Marlowe, who helped the Aztecs to their only NCAA title in 1973, Laurel Brassey Iversen, who set the men's team in 1974 and was a NCAA women's All-American on the Aztec team in 1981 and current SDSU women's coach Deitre Collins-Parker were all selected for the honor.
Marlowe won a Gold Medal as captain of the 1984 USA Olympic Team while Brassey Iversen played on the 1988 USA women's team with Collins-Parker.
Deitre Collins-Parker, who recently completed her eighth season as head women's volleyball coach at San Diego state, was a three-time All-American as a player at the University of Hawai'i, she led the Rainbow Wahine to consecutive national titles (1983-84) and was named the national player of the year twice. Collins-Parker was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team (1988) and competed at the Goodwill Games and Pan Am Games prior to playing professionally in Europe for four years. She is one of six players named to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team in October 2005 and was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in the fall of 2008.
Laurel Brassey Iverson made headlines in 1974 when she started as a setter for the San Diego State men's team that finished fourth in the region. She returned to SDSU in 1981 to compete for the women's team that finished third at the inaugural NCAA Tournament. In addition to earning All-America honors in 1981, she was also named the MVP of the NCAA Regional, the Western Collegiate Athletic Association and the SDSU Collegiate Classic. Brassey Iverson was a member of the women's national team from 1973 to 1980 and played on the U.S. Olympic team in Seoul in 1988. She went on to coach at the University of New Mexico from 1983-2000.
Chris Marlowe was a two-time volleyball All-American who led San Diego State to the 1973 national title. He was a member of the U.S. National team and MVP of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team in Montreal. He went on to captain the Olympic gold-medal winning squad in 1984. Marlowe was a five-time U.S. Volleyball Association MVP and an outstanding pro beach volleyball player before going on to a successful career in television broadcasting.
"The committee has done a tremendous job in narrowing the over 100 deserving Southern California nominees to an opening class of 25 indoor players and coaches," said Mike Gallups, the President of American Sports Centers where the Hall of Fame will be housed later this year. "We are excited that the 25 selections cover the major eras of volleyball and look forward to honoring additional outstanding athletes and coaches with ties to Southern California in years to come.
Among the 25 inductees there are over 100 combined Olympic medals, NCAA, AIAW & USVBA Titles and numerous United States Volleyball Association (USAV) honors from the 1950s into the 2000s.