Cewe (pronounced Sea-Wie) prepares to enter his seventh season as head coach of the Ashford University volleyball team this fall and is continuing to build on successes that have seen the Saints continually rise among the ranks in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. He is responsible for the ongoing transformation of the program, culminating with a sixth-place Midwest Collegiate Conference finish in his 2007 effort -- a 12-win turnaround from the 2006 campaign.

Cewe and his staff once again had the program better itself with a school-record 28-win season in 2010, a six-game margin that was then the precedent in 2009.

After serving as the assistant coach for the 2004 season,Cewe was elevated to head coach and hired in Feburary 2005. The Saints reached the exclusive 20-win standard for the fourth time in six years under Cewe's direction last season and he has brought in and developed players in his program that have received conference, regional and national accolades.

In Cewe's rookie season at the controls, the Saints finished the 2005 campaign by accumulating more wins than any other AU volleyball team in school history at the time. Ashford ended up with an overall record of 21-12 and finished third in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

Cewe improved his previous school record as he led Ashford to 22 wins on the court in 2008-09, advancing to the semifinals of the MCC Tournament. In a testament to the team's outstanding academic prowess, 14 members of the squad landed on the Academic All-MCC list and three were honored as NAIA Daktronics-Scholar Athletes.

To date, he has witnessed his players receive All-MCC honors 20 times, Academic All-MCC accolades 42 times and helped multi-category school record holder Jenny Buelow become AU's first NAIA All-American at the time since track and field's Aaron Burns (2005). A total of eight student-athletes have also garnered Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete accolades.

In just his third season at Ashford, Cewe guided the Saints to the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament title game, defeating third-seeded Viterbo University and second-seeded St. Ambrose University -- all on the road as the sixth seed. He more than tripled AU's win total from a year ago, getting 17 victories in 2007.

After a tough 2006 schedule that saw Cewe lose eight of 11 players on the roster, the remaining three still collected conference accolades and were selected to the All-MCC team (Buelow, Orozco, Aubree Rhoades).

Many awards were bestowed in his first year with the team including two NAIA All-Region VII players (Buelow, Stacy Cook) and five MCC All-Conference performers (Buelow, Cook, Amanda Deters, Kristin Orozco, Jessie Kearns).

The team also picked up national recognition in several team statistical categories by placing ninth in the nation in total kills per game (15.77) and finishing 12th in the country with team hitting percentage (0.308).

While serving as an assistant coach for the Saints in 2004, he helped the women sustain a winning season, improving their overall record to 16-14. Cewe also helped the Saints finish in a tight three-way tie for second place in the MCC while successfully winning a postseason tournament game.

Cewe served Ashford during his undergraduate years as a member of the men's basketball team, earning Academic All-MCC honors in 2003 and 2004. A 2005 graduate of Ashford University, he is married to his wife, Trina, and they reside together in nearby Camanche with their daughter, Tenley.

The Cewe File

• Assistant Volleyball Coach - Ashford University (2004)
• Head Volleyball Coach - Ashford University (2005-Present)

The Saints Under Cewe (2005-Present)

Rhoades officially joined her alma mater prior to the start of the 2011 fall campaign in the capacity of an assistant coach for the Saints' volleyball program. She assists AU Head Coach Micah Cewe in all operations of the program including recruiting, practices and game-day preparations.

Rhoades, a native of Fulton, Ill., was a three-year starter for the Saints in her playing days, earning First-Team All-Midwest Collegiate Conference honors for two years. In addition, she was a three-time Ashford Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete distinction for each year eligible.

Rhoades ended her decorated three-year career (transferred from University of Wisconsin-Platteville) near the top in many statistical categories in the record books, including kills (3rd with 1,288), digs (6th with 793) and total blocks (6th with 208).

Rhoades completed her first year of playing eligibility at NCAA Div. II University of Wisconsin-Platteville before transferring.

Rhoades also teaches at Lyons Middle School, where she specializes in Language Arts for 8th graders and formerly Social Studies and Language Arts for 6th grade students.

Rhoades is also the co-Vice President of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Clinton chapter and is a fitness instructor/personal trainer at the local YWCA in town.

Rhoades graduated from Ashford with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education in the spring of 2009. She currently resides in Fulton, Ill.

The Rhoades File

• 3D Club Team Coach - Fulton, Ill. (2006)
  
• Clinton Volleyball Club Team Coach - Clinton, Iowa (2007-08)
  
• Genesis Club Team Coach - Clinton, Iowa (2009)
  
• 8th Grade Volleyball Coach - Lyons Middle School (2009)
  
• Assistant Volleyball Coach - Clinton High School (2010)
• Assistant Volleyball Coach - Ashford University (2011-Present)