WAYNE, Neb. -- 19 years, 451 wins, and two central region titles is a brief summary of the almost two decades worth of coaching from Wayne State College Volleyball Coach Scott Kneifl.

In addition, Kneifl was picked as the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year in Tampa, Florida last Thursday.

While he has gathered those individual accolades, he said it’s the team mentality that’s brought him that success.

“Receiving an award like that is great but it’s truly a team award," Kneifl said. "I’ve got two great assistants in Kim DePew and Katie Morris. They’re phenomenal and we have a great team. That makes it so much easier."

The Newcastle native and Wayne State graduate has been with the Wildcats for 21 years, with 19 as the head coach; and said he could not imagine his career taking him anywhere else but Wayne.

“I love it here," Kneifl said. "It’s a great place, you know. There’s so many great things here at our college and we’ve got a great institution to learn and great college athletics as well. It’s just one of those things where [I] just really enjoy here and can’t see myself anywhere else."

A similar sentiment can be seen when talking to Sports Information Director Mike Grosz who started his career a year after Kneifl.

“Coach is not big on promoting himself," Grosz said. "He’s more about the team. He was actually hoping we as SID’s wouldn’t have promoted his [450th win] but it was against Kearney. It was at regionals. You have to promote stuff like that."

Grosz said Kneifl’s and the Wildcats’ success goes beyond the borders of Nebraska; and his impact is more than just a good volleyball coach, but a great person.

“We’re in the Chicago airport waiting for [the] next flight and random people come up to us," Grosz said. "They see us in our Wayne State stuff [and say] ‘My daughter plays with one of your players in club volleyball in Omaha and your coach is just the greatest’."

While the season may not have ended the way Kneifl wanted it to, he said the college’s and the state’s ability to support volleyball and watch it grow makes it a place he wants to stay.

“I just told a recruit yesterday when you cross that river, something changes," Kneifl said. "Something does change when it comes to the sport of volleyball here. People love to watch it. People love to support it and it’s just a great place to coach and play volleyball."

While the volleyball season is over and the Christmas season is nearly here, Kneifl has no time to rest as recruiting visits and preparing for the next season has already begun.