Ron Zwerver Tabbed As Oregon State Assistant

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Two-time Olympic medalist Ron Zwerver (Zwur-vur) will join the Oregon State volleyball program as an assistant coach, head coach Mark Barnard announced Friday.

Zwerver, who is considered one of the best volleyball players in Dutch history, was a gold medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. He had previously won a silver medal with The Netherlands at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

He's a three-time Olympian as The Netherlands finished in fifth at the 1998 Olympics in Seoul.

"Any time you can get someone with his experience, Internationally, and as a player and coach, that's a great addition to our staff and the program," Barnard said. "He'll have another perspective for our student-athletes; they'll hear a different voice, a very experienced voice, at that.

"There's never a situation where I can't be learning from the other staff members and Ron's experience will help us keep improving."

"I'm excited because it's always been a dream for me to come to the United States," Zwerver said. "Working on a campus, it seems like 365 days in an Olympic park. For a European, that's quite a leap because normally we only have a gym. I like the U.S. system where education and athletics is combined."

Zwerver spent the last 10 years as an assistant coach and head coach Internationally. In 2015, he was an assistant coach with the Dutch Men's National Team for the European Championships in Bulgaria. It was his second stint with the club as he served as an assistant coach for the team from 2006-07.

In 2014, he was an assistant coach for the Women's National Team and its trip to the World Championships in Italy. In 2012, he served as an assistant for the same club at the Olympic Qualification Tournament.

From 2009-14, he was the head coach of The Netherlands Boys Team (ages 15-20), which was preceded from 2009-10 as his role of head coach HVA.

Zwever served as head coach of Ortec Nesselande, a Dutch club that was national champions, in 2007.

After playing in 463 matches for the Dutch National Team, as well as six seasons in Italy and one in Belgium, he retired in 1999. He was named the Best Attacker in two World Championships – 1990 and 1994 – as well as the World League in 1990 and 1991. Zwerver was also named the Best Server at the Olympics in 1992, the World League in 1991, the European Championships in 1993.

To cap off his career highlights, he was named the MVP of the 1992 Olympic Games.

Beaver Nation's first opportunity to see the team in action is Friday at Gill Coliseum. The team will play in the Orange & Black Scrimmage, a free event that starts at 7 p.m. PT.

Oregon State opens the 2016 season when hosting the Ultra Ankle Challenge at Gill Coliseum. The Beavers open August 26 with a match against Utah State at 10 a.m. OSU will also play Portland that night at 7 p.m. The tournament ends when the Beavers face Seattle at 7 p.m. on August 27.

Season and single-match tickets for the 2016 season are available for purchase by visiting BeaverTickets.com or calling 1-800-GOBEAVS.

For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverVBall, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverVBall.

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