Always one for staying active, Rawles comments, “After high school, I needed to fill the competitive void that had been such a big part of my life. I started playing beach volleyball and that was it. Never in my wildest dreams did I realize that volleyball would become such a passion for me.”

Rawles played competitively in the Midwest Professional Volleyball Association (MPVA) for six seasons and was ranked as high as number 3 on the tour in 2006. While playing on the tour, Rawles was a finalist for Rookie of the Year in 2002, and he was
named Most Improved Player in 2003. During this period, Rawles kept a busy schedule as he juggled completed his degree in Early Childhood Education at Baker College, playing, and coaching volleyball.

Rawles coaching career began when he was 20 years old and he became involved in coaching a 14 and under AAU volleyball team. As his young teams became a powerhouse, Rawles continued to move up to coach the elite 17 and under national level team. He was also named Assistant Club Director.

Rawles was offered his first high school varsity coaching job at Western Michigan Christian High School in 2004. After one year there,
he was offered the job at North Muskegon High School, where he led the volleyball team to a Class C state title in 2006. Rawles adds,
“After winning the state title, I knew that coaching volleyball was what I wanted to do. I enjoyed the challenge of taking a group of
individuals and molding them into a cohesive unit. Volleyball is such a fast paced game and you need chemistry on the court to be
successful.”

Rawles took a leap in his professional growth after his state championship at North Muskegon High School. He spent one year under
Cathy George as a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan State University in 2007. Rawles was able to experience first hand the requirements of running a successful collegiate volleyball program. The Spartans qualified for the NCAA national tournament and won their first round match before bowing out in the second round of the tournament.

The future looks bright for the Saints and with three recruiting classes under Coach Rawles belt, there is plenty of talent and depth
in the program. Coach Rawles was voted by his peers as the Champions of Character coach in 2008.

Coach Rawles is married to Kari Rawles and they have a daughter Peyton, who will turn two this year.

BRANDYN THORSEN Assistant Coach -- Brandyn Thorsen, after taking a year off from coaching with the Saint’s two years ago, returns with enthusiasm and the challenge of making this team a league contender and a national powerhouse. After a stellar competitive 4 year career as a starter on the Michigan State University volleyball team as an outside hitter. Thorsen is ready to put his energies into passing a long his wisdom to the players.

Thorsen recently completed his teaching degree in Special Education from Grand Valley State University. Head Coach Dave Rawles has worked with Brandyn since 2004 and is impressed with his technical knowledge of the game and claims his expertise in passing and defense is second to none.

KARI RAWLES Assistant Coach/Director of Volleyball Operations -- Coach Kari joined the Aquinas Volleyball program in the 2007 season with Coach Rawles. This will be her fourth year as Director of Volleyball Operations (DOVO) and her third year as an assistant coach. In 2007 her time was also spent as the head JV volleyball coach for North Muskegon High School. And this past AAU season she was an Assistant Director of Saints Juniors.

In 2002-2003 she was part of the Grand Valley State University Club team as a starting libero.

BETSY VANDER MEER Assistant Coach -- Betsy Vander Meer is no stranger to the volleyball program at Aquinas College. Betsy has been invested into the program from day one after her daughter, setter Katie Vander Meer, transferred from Michigan
State University. This will be Betsy's second year as an assistant coach. Betsy has over ten years of coaching volleyball under her belt and 8 years of officiating volleyball. Her coaching experience ranges from coordinating and coaching young kids programs to JV at East Kentwood, and most recently Vander Meer has coached the Far Out Boys club team (ages 15-18) for the last three years. Betsy is also one of the top coaches for the Saints Juniors Volleyball Club program.

Betsy is married to Doug Vander Meer and has two children, Katie and Matthew. Katie is a student athlete here at Aquinas and Matthew attends Michigan Sate University and plays volleyball on the men's team at MSU. Betsy and her husband Doug reside in Kentwood.