Brian Rushmer is in his second year as the head men's volleyball coach at Lakeland.
In Rushmer’s first year, the Muskies posted a 6-14 overall record before their season was ended early in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakeland got off to a 0-7 start but was more competitive after and finished 2-4 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Rushmer had one of the most prolific hitters in the country as Nate Vanderwaal finished third in NCAA Division III in kills per set and set a new Lakeland varsity single-match record for kills, and the Muskies also led the NACC in service aces.
Rushmer came to Lakeland after spending four years as an assistant at Marian University just down the road in Fond du Lac and with 16 years of experience in all coaching volleyball. He was an assistant coach with both the men's and women's volleyball programs at Marian, the Muskies' Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference rival. He assisted with the men's team since 2015, joining just before the program's first varsity season, and also assisted Sarah (Angelos) Frings with the Sabres women's volleyball team in the 2018 season.
Rushmer assisted head coach Tyler Frings in making Marian's men's team competitive immediately, with the Sabres winning nine matches in their first season and improving to 13 wins two years later. In his final season Marian finished fifth in the NACC and as the fourth seed in the NACC Tournament hosted a conference tourney match for the first time.
Rushmer is a native of Wauwatosa, Wis., and has coached volleyball at a host of different levels, from college and high schools to clubs and recreation and both indoor and on sand. Notably, he has coached the Germantown High School boys volleyball varsity team since 2006, starting the program from scratch and making it to state six times and winning a WIAA state championship in 2018.
He also has been a coach with the Milwaukee Volleyball Club since 2010, and has directed camps and programs for the Germantown Parks and Recreation Department since 2007. He also coaches with the sand volleyball program with the Ozaukee Volleyball Club, leading summer camps.
