Volleyball | 3/28/2017 1:22:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University head volleyball coach Shelton Collier has announced the hiring of Catherine Brusie as the assistant volleyball coach at Wingate University. Brusie joins the Wingate coaching staff after spending two years at Campbell University.

"We are excited about the addition of Catherine to our staff," Collier says. "I am confident that she will make valuable contributions to our program in many ways both on and off the court. She is bright, motivated, and has some exceptional personal qualities. She has had successful playing experience at both the Division I and Division II levels and she will have an important role coaching our players in practice as well as helping our team in match situations. Her experience as a recruiter at Campbell will be of value as she takes on the responsibility of recruiting coordinator here at Wingate."

Brusie joined the Campbell coaching staff in the 2015 season. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in advertising and public relations at Florida Southern College, where she was a libero/defensive specialist for the Mocs. Brusie helped lead Campbell to the Big South championship during her first season as a part of the coaching staff.  

"I could not be more thrilled to join Coach Collier and the Bulldog volleyball family," Brusie says. "I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such an incredible group of student-athletes. Wingate is a very reputable program with a championship level culture and one that I am very excited to be a part of as I take the next step in my coaching career."

A native of North Branch, Michigan, Brusie began her college career at Winthrop University in 2011. She helped the team tie with Liberty for the Big South Championship title. She was a Big South Preseason all-conference player in 2012 and a team captain both years at Winthrop.

In 2013 Brusie transferred to Florida Southern, earning all-conference accolades in 2013 and 2014 to go along with AVCA All-Region honors in 2014. Brusie was named SSC Defensive Player of the Week five times during her senior season. She was named to the NCAA South Regional All-Tournament team in the 2013 season. She was also a SSC Commissioner's honor roll member in both 2013 and 2014. She graduated from Florida Southern College Summa Cum Laude in May of 2015.

Brusie was very active in the community helping to coach local volleyball camps. She has volunteered her time at camps hosted by Campbell, the University of North Carolina, Florida Southern College, Winthrop and a number of other schools and local teams. She spent the summer of 2014 as an intern with California FCA Volleyball as an intern. During her internship, Brusie was a site director and facilitated a productive, safe, friendly and spiritual working environment for site staff during camps. She also worked closely with different groups within the Southern California volleyball community, including members of the men's and women's USA National team, local collegiate players, and local high school and youth players.

In December of 2014, Brusie received the AVCA Coaches for Coaches Scholarship for all of her hard work and dedication to the sport of volleyball. She gained various coaching skills working camps but also in her time away from college volleyball. She was an assistant coach for the Southern Select volleyball club team in Lakeland, Fla., a defensive trainer for the Oakland Elite volleyball club team in Oakland, Mich. and the head coach/defensive trainer of the Michigan Elite volleyball club team in Detroit, Mich.

Brusie earned her Master's degree in Business Administration at Campbell in December of 2016. She was selected as one of 50 coaches nationwide to participate in the 2016 NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar.

Brusie will be replacing former Wingate volleyball assistant coach Abbi Hayes, who recently resigned to accept a full time position with the Carolina Union Volleyball Club in Charlotte.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 10 years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 88 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 88 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 97 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.