Lincoln – University of Nebraska volleyball head coach John Cook announced Thursday the hiring of Chris Tamas as an assistant coach, with his wife, Jennifer (Joines) Tamas, joining the Huskers as a volunteer assistant. Chris Tamas was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Cal Poly the past two seasons, while Jen served as a volunteer assistant there.

Cook said Tamas, a former U.S. Men’s National Team captain who also spent two years as an assistant at Minnesota, brings tremendous playing and coaching experience, as well as recruiting ability to the Huskers. He will primarily oversee Nebraska’s middle blockers, coordinate blocking defense and scouting reports, while assisting in recruiting. Tamas replaces Dan Meske, who took the head coach position at Augustana (S.D.).

“Going through the search process, we were really impressed with the quality of candidates interested in Nebraska volleyball,” Cook said. “Chris really stood out to us because of his playing experience with the U.S. National Team and that he’s played under some great coaches. He has been in the Big Ten, so he’s familiar with the conference and what it takes to compete at this level. He’s also been at two programs in rebuilding modes in UC Riverside and Cal Poly, and that’s when you really learn how to coach. I admire the fact that he helped rebuild a program basically from scratch, a program that is ready to take off after the players he brought in last year.”

In Tamas’ first season at Cal Poly in 2013, the Mustangs posted an eight-win improvement over 2012. Tamas’ seven-player recruiting class in 2014 was ranked 23rd nationally by PrepVolleyball.com, and the Mustangs’ top hitter, setter and blocker in 2014 were all freshmen, including Big West Conference All-Freshman Team member Raeann Greisen (3.55 kills per set). The Mustangs regularly started five of the seven freshmen Tamas helped bring in.

“I have been fortunate enough to travel the world through my playing and coaching career – from the collegiate to the national and professional levels – and what the University of Nebraska does for the sport of volleyball is unrivaled,” Tamas said. “From the passionate and knowledgeable fans to the dedicated and hardworking staff, we couldn’t be more excited to join this program. We’re looking forward to working with Coach Cook, developing our student-athletes, and together achieving world-class results.”

As an assistant coach at Minnesota from 2011-12, he helped lead the Golden Gophers to an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in 2011 and an Elite Eight showing in 2012. In addition to scouting, Tamas was tasked with training Minnesota’s setters, and the Golden Gophers finished the 2012 season with the Big Ten Conference’s top offense and ranked eighth nationally in kills per set. With Minnesota, Tamas worked under Hugh McCutcheon, who directed the United States Men’s National Team to a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the U.S. women’s team to a silver medal in 2012. Prior to his time with Minnesota, Tamas spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons at UC Riverside under 2008 Olympic assistant coach Ron Larsen.

Tamas’ wife, Jennifer (Joines) Tamas, was a four-time All-American middle blocker at Pacific (2000-03) and silver medalist with the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She played professionally for eight years in Japan, Italy, Russia, Azerbaijan and Puerto Rico and was the U.S. Women’s National Team captain for four years.

“I coached Jen on two USA teams previously, and she’s very good friends with Jordan Larson-Burbach and Nancy Metcalf (Meendering),” Cook said. “She’s interested in coaching now that she’s retired from playing professionally. Jen and Chris together are going to make a very big impact on our program.”

Jen Tamas added: “I look forward to joining my husband and bringing our family into the Lincoln Community. There is no better place in the country to play volleyball and raise a family. We are honored to join such a storied program. As a former Olympian and captain of our women’s national team, I understand the unique combination of leadership skills, dedication to training, and commitment to the team that is needed at the highest level. We look forward to helping develop these traits in our young women here at Nebraska.”

Both Chris and Jen Tamas bring with them accomplished collegiate and professional playing careers.

Chris Tamas was a 2003 graduate of Pacific with a degree in sports sciences. He was a four-year starter for the Tigers and a unanimous AVCA All-America first team selection and team Most Valuable Player during his 2003 senior season, Tamas remains first in program history in assists (5,086), third in assists per set (13.46), fourth in service aces (84), 10th in digs (498) and 14th in total bocks (221). In four years with the United States Men’s National Team (1999, 2003, 2005-06), Tamas made 34 appearances and in 1999 helped the squad to a silver medal at the World Junior Championships in Havana. As national team captain in 2003, Tamas helped lead the United States to a bronze medal at the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea.

A training camp invitee for the United States squad that eventually captured the 2008 Olympic gold medal, Tamas also helped U.S. sides to silver at the 2005 World Grand Champions Cup in Japan and, as a setter, to a gold at the 2006 NORCECA Championships in Mexicali, Mexico.

As a professional, Tamas competed for six years overseas with clubs Protect Eye Orion (Netherlands), Antigos Alunos (Portugal), Real Grupo (Spain), Erdemir (Turkey), Dionysos (Cyprus) and Isku (Finland). In Finland and Cyprus, Tamas helped his clubs to national cup championships.

As a middle blocker with the United States Women’s National Team, Jen Tamas made more than 60 appearances in eight years while serving as captain for four years. Aside from assisting the U.S. to silver at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Tamas helped lift the country to gold at the 2012 Pan-American Cup.

She was the 2003 Big West Conference Player of the Year and 2000 Big West Freshman of the Year at Pacific, where she led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament each year. Tamas earned communications and business degrees at Pacific.

Nebraska incoming freshman Jack McVeigh will represent Australia next month at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Greece. McVeigh was one of the 12 players announced Thursday by Basketball Australia.

The tournament runs from June 27 to July 5, and Australia will face Canada (June 27), Tunisia (June 28) and Italy (June 30) in pool play. The team will leave Australia on June 10 and play tune-up games in Spain and Croatia before heading to Greece. Australia is seeking its first medal in the event since 2003, when Andrew Bogut led Australia to a gold medal, while featuring former Husker great Aleks Maric.

McVeigh, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound guard/forward from Gold Coast, Queensland, signed with the Huskers earlier this spring. He has extensive experience in the national team pipeline, as McVeigh was chosen to captain the Under-19 National Team in 2014, but was unable to play because of illness. McVeigh, who has played with the Senior National Team at the 2014 Sino-Australia Challenge, also played for the Australian Select Team in 2014 and at the Adidas Nations event in 2013.

Kiki Stokes was recognized for an outstanding junior season on Wednesday, May 27, when she was named a third-team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

The 15th Nebraska softball player to be recognized as an NFCA All-American, Stokes is the first Husker outfielder to earn All-America accolades since Kim Ogee in 2002. Twelve Huskers have combined to earn 19 All-America honors under Head Coach Rhonda Revelle, including three players in the last two seasons.

“Kiki is very deserving of this honor,” Revelle said. “The coaching staff knew she had the potential to be an All-American, and we challenged her to meet that potential. Kiki worked extremely hard and put in a tremendous amount of preparation for this season. As a coach, nothing is more rewarding than seeing a student-athlete reach her potential and be rewarded and recognized for her efforts.”

Stokes’ hard work and dedication certainly paid off, as she earned the first all-conference, all-region and All-America accolades of her career. Stokes hit .407 as a junior with nine doubles, five triples, 11 homers and 51 RBIs, matching or exceeding her career totals entering the year in each of those categories.

A native of Olathe, Kan., Stokes was one of the nation’s most dynamic offensive threats in 2015. Boasting a potent combination of power and speed, Stokes did it all as the Huskers’ leadoff hitter for all 58 games. In addition to posting the sixth-highest batting average in school history, Stokes set school records with 66 runs scored and 17 hit-by-pitches. She also drew 34 walks to post a .532 on-base percentage, the highest single-season mark in the history of Nebraska softball. In addition to setting three school records, Stokes ranked seventh in Husker history in triples, ninth in hits (72) and 12th in RBIs.

One of only five Division I players to record 10 home runs and five triples in 2015, Stokes ranks 13th nationally in runs scored and 38th in on-base percentage. In a testament to her versatility, Stokes produced 50 hits, 50 runs, 50 RBIs and 50 free passes (combined walks and hit-by-pitches) this season, one of only seven players nationally to accomplish that feat.

A team tri-captain, Stokes helped Nebraska to a strong finish. The Huskers posted 35 victories and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, before being eliminated in the regional round with a 10-inning loss at No. 5 LSU, which advanced to the Women’s College World Series. Stokes went 4-for-7 in two games against the Tigers this season, highlighting her success against top competition. Stokes hit .475 (19-for-40) with three doubles, one triple, four homers and nine RBIs in 12 games against ranked teams, including a .478 average (11-for-23) with one double, one triple, three homers and five RBIs in six contests against top-10 opponents.

Stokes will look to lead Nebraska to even greater success in 2016, when she looks to bookend her career with Women’s College World Series appearances after helping the Huskers make it to Oklahoma City as a freshman in 2013.