Brian Rushmer embarks on his fifth year as the head men's volleyball coach at Lakeland in 2023-24.
Rushmer’s teams have won 22 matches over his first four years, with shortened schedules his first three years with seasons disrupted by the COVID-19 virus. The Muskies in 2023 finished 7-17 overall and 2-10 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. A young team was dominated by freshmen and juniors, with just two senior regulars in the rotation.
Lakeland finished 6-12 in 2022, including a 3-9 mark in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The year before the Muskies played just 12 matches in 2021 due to the coronavirus, finishing 3-9 overall and 3-7 in the NACC. Four of the team’s losses came to nationally ranked teams.
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 NACC. 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 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. He has coached the Germantown High School boys volleyball varsity team since 2006, starting the program from scratch, 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.
| Brian Rushmer Lakeland MVB Coaching Record |
|
| Year |
Overall |
Conf. |
NACC Finish |
|
| 2020 |
6-14 |
2-4 |
9th |
|
| 2021 |
3-9 |
2-7 |
10th |
|
| 2022 |
6-12 |
3-9 |
tie-9th |
|
| 2023 |
7-17 |
2-10 |
tie-11th |
|
| Career (4 seasons) |
22-52 |
9-30 |
