Nicasio Paquiz Jr. - WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL Coach

Nicasio Paquiz Jr.

Title:
Assistant Coach

Nicasio Paquiz Jr. joined the Blue Demon volleyball staff as an assistant coach in April of 2015 and returned to DePaul after he was a volunteer assistant during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

With Paquiz on staff, DePaul has an overall record of 29-32 through the two seasons, including a winning 16-15 slate in 2015. The Blue Demons had their first All-BIG EAST First Team member in 2016 with Brittany Maxwell to cap a season that saw the Blue Demons win a program-best seven BIG EAST contests.

Specializing in training the defensive specialists/liberos, Paquiz helped the Blue Demons to an increase in digs and digs/set in his first season at DePaul. Senior Tyler Graham ranked in the top eight of the BIG EAST for digs/set and total digs in that season.

Paquiz brings to Lincoln Park over 22 years of coaching experience at the NCAA Division I, elite club and high school levels. Before joining DePaul, Paquiz served as an assistant at Eastern Michigan University.

"Nic is a Chicagoland native and has a strong rapport within the local volleyball community and club scene,” said head coach Nadia Edwards. “He also brings a wealth of knowledge of the game and has a solid background in technical training.”

During his stint at Eastern Michigan, the Eagles boasted the Mid-American Conference's top defense, leading the league in digs (2,058) and ranked in the top-25 nationally with 17.01 digs per set in 2014. During his first year in 2013, the EMU defense finished first in the MAC with 19.20 digs/set and top-10 nationally (17.74 digs/set). The team made it to the MAC Tournament final that year, its first time since 1990.

Paquiz also spent time at Michigan Technological University and Wisconsin-Green Bay during his time as a collegiate coach. In Paquiz’s first year at Michigan Tech, the staff inherited a team that went 0-19 in conference play and helped direct a 7-11 GLIAC record and 12-19 overall finish in 2012, the best single-year improvement in the league.

Outside of his collegiate coaching experience, Paquiz spent nearly five years as the head coach at 1st Alliance VBC in Western Springs, Ill. He coached both 17-and 18-year old classes, leading both squads to multiple top-placing finishes in national tournaments.

In 2015, Paquiz was selected as the head coach for the Great Lakes Region USA PVL Women’s team, Great Lakes Lightning, and finished 5th at the USA Premier Volleyball League Championships in Detroit, Mich.

As head coach of the 1st Alliance 18 Silver squad, Paquiz led his team to a first place finish in the Great Lakes Power League in 2012. His 2009 squad earned a bronze medal at the AAU Junior Nationals and a ninth place finish at the Junior Volleyball Directors Association (JVDA) Championships.

In 2011, his 17 Silver squad was ranked as high as eighth in the PrepVolleyball.com national poll, while earning a gold medal at the Junior Volleyball Association World Challenge. His 17 Silver team earned a top-15 finish in the Great Lakes Power League 18 & Under division.

Before taking the reins at 1st Alliance, Paquiz spent over eight years of coaching in Southern California. Paquiz served as head coach of the boy's and girl's teams at the Brentwood School in Los Angeles, Calif. and as head coach at Santa Monica Beach Volleyball Club (SMBC) with their 14’s thru 18’s age groups.

A 1998 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Paquiz spent two years (1994-96) playing for the men’s volleyball club program.