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A staple on the O'Keefe sidelines for the last six years, Ben Bodipo-Memba is in his seventh season as an assistant under Bond Shymansky and his second as the associate head coach of the Georgia Tech volleyball team. A favorite among players and coaches alike, Bodipo-Memba brings a high-energy, upbeat mentality to the courts, which meshes well with Shymansky's up-tempo style of volleyball.
Since his arrival, the Yellow Jackets have made three NCAA appearances and captured the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship as well as the 2003 and 2004 ACC regular season titles.
Bodipo-Memba directed the Yellow Jacket offense his first five years on the Flats before becoming Tech's defensive coordinator in 2007, a more natural role for the 38-year old as he was a starting middle blocker for various U.S. National and Olympic Festival Teams in the past.
Under his guidance, two former Yellow Jacket middle blockers have earned honorable mention All-America honors while four have been named All-ACC.
In his first season in Atlanta, Georgia Tech was the only school in the ACC to have two middle blockers ranked in the top-10 in both blocks per game and hitting percentage, while two of his 2003 middle blockers concluded the season ranked in the top-25 in the nation, and first and second in the conference, in hitting percentage. That same year, the Yellow Jackets finished third in the ACC and 46th in the nation with 2.69 blocks per game while honorable mention All-American Alexandra Preiss concluded the year ranked seventh in the nation with Jayme Gergen checking in at 25th in hitting percentage. Bodipo-Memba again directed one of the nation's top hitters in 2004, as Gergen garnered honorable mention All-America honors by finishing 12th in the nation in hitting percentage.
Since his arrival, the Yellow Jacket offense has led the nation in assists per game and kills per game on two occasions and has finished in the top-10 in hitting percentage twice. He has also coached two setters that led the nation in assists per game - first team All-American Kele Eveland in 2003 and honorable mention All-American Lindsey Laband in 2004.
After playing collegiately at San Diego State and Grossmont College in the late 1980's, Bodipo-Memba started at middle blocker for the U.S. Olympic Festival Silver Medal team in 1990 and spent three years (1993-95) as a member of the USA National Team. He has also participated in the U.S. Open Championships in 1993, 1996, 1998, and from 2000-06 and played a year of professional volleyball in Finland as a member of Raison Loimu in 1996.
While still competing on the national level, Bodipo-Memba began his coaching career in the San Diego area, spending eight years at the high school level. In his last four years on the West Coast (1994-97), Bodipo-Memba also coached with the San Diego Volleyball Club, guiding the program's top 17-and-under and 14-and-under teams. His final prep assignment came at Francis Parker High School, serving as the head coach for the junior varsity team while assisting with the varsity squad that won a C.I.F. Championship.
Bodipo-Memba earned his first collegiate coaching position in 1997 at Western Carolina, where he remained until receiving the call from Shymansky to head to Atlanta.
After a 10-year hiatus from the U.S. National Team, Bodipo-Memba returned to the organization in 2005 as a coach when he was asked to assist U.S. Women's National Team head coach Jenny "Lang" Ping for the Pan American Cup. Following the team's training in Colorado Springs, Colo., over the summer, the Novato, Calif. native accompanied the team to the Dominican Republic, helping the squad qualify for the 2006 World Grand Prix. He spent the summer of 2008 as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National A2 Team that captured the gold medal at the U.S. Open Championships, and continues to coach within the U.S.A. Volleyball pipeline.
Bodipo-Memba has spent six years representing the ACC on the AVCA Assistant Coaches Committee and is also a member of the AVCA Education and Publication Committee, representing all assistant volleyball coaches. He continues to play in the annual U.S. Open Adult Championships, where he helped his 2005 squad to the bronze medal in the Open division. An avid musician, Bodipo-Memba enjoys playing the guitar in his spare time and likes long walks on the beach and Twizzlers.
Send Ben an email - bbodipo@athletics.gatech.edu
