Lonnie Rinell has been hired as the Knox College Head Volleyball Coach, announced Director of Athletics Corey Goff on Tuesday.

Rinell has a long history of coaching high level volleyball in the area, including high school, club, and college coaching.

"We are excited to have Lonnie take the reins of the volleyball program," said Goff. "Lonnie has the values, experience and leadership qualities we need to be able to take Prairie Fire volleyball to the next level."

Most recently, Rinell has been officiating USVA Juniors and collegiate volleyball. He has many years of experience at the club level in Illinois and Iowa. 

"I want to thank Corey Goff and his athletic administration for hiring me to join the Knox volleyball program," said Rinell. "I have over 20 seasons of club coaching experience along with officiating high performance and college volleyball. I am very excited to build a program that lasts. I want to coach a team with a passion to compete, coach players with high character, and develop a sense of family on the team!"

In 2006 and 2007, Rinnell coached the Augustana College men's volleyball team. They finished third and fifth in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Championships. Rinnell coached four all-americans in those two seasons.

Rinnell has a USA Volleyball CAP coaching certification, an IMPACT Certification, is a Pavo Certified Official, is a USA Volleyball Regional Official, and has his ASEP coaching certification. He graduated from Palmer Chiropractic University.