SEATTLE, Wash. --- After spending the last four years as the lead assistant under Head Coach Aaron Seltzer for Biola's nationally ranked volleyball program Abbie Wright has accepted the position as the new head coach at NCAA Division II institution Seattle Pacific University.
 
It will be Wright's first head coaching job and first collegiate coaching job away from her alma mater. She's taken on more and more responsibilities at Biola over the course of the past four years, which has her primed and ready for this new position.
 
"She's very well prepared and has a great coaching mind. She's really helped to grow our program over the last few years," said Biola Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "Look at our success over the past four years. There's no reason we could achieve what we did without her."
 
During Wright's tenure on the bench the Eagles compiled an overall record of 115-24 and made the NAIA national tournament field each and every year. The team won a Golden State Athletic Conference championship, earned a No. 1 national ranking and made the NAIA National Championship match once and to the semifinals two other times.
 
She was named to the American Volleyball Coaches' Association's 30 under 30 list this summer and was also named the NAIA's Assistant Coach of the Year following the 2015 season.
 
"She's good at finding specific ways to work with each athlete's talents and help them grow," said Seltzer. "She's also helped me grow personally as a coach by giving me good feedback and offering new ways to see things differently. This all has her ready for this new position."
 
Venturing up to Seattle will be a whole new experience for Wright, who played four years at Biola and has never known anything outside of the astounding success Biola has had at the NAIA level. As Biola jumps to NCAA Division II next year so will Wright as she leads the Falcons, who are a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
The Falcons went 11-17 in the 2016 season under their departing head coach, Chris Johnson, who retired after 12 seasons at the helm, offering up an opportunity for Wright at a school that represents so closely all the things she's come to know and appreciate at Biola.
 
"I've appreciated that Aaron has really helped me grow in the role that I've had over these past few years," said Wright. "He's given me a lot more of a voice than most assistants have. I appreciated the opportunity to work about Biola. We have had really great kids, really great families and really great coworkers that I will miss as I leave."
 
Wright's position change was officially announced at the team banquet this past weekend and stirred up a lot of emotion from the current team and the staff. She's definitely made a huge impact on the lives of the young women in the program and will surely continue to do so in an increased capacity up at SPU.
 
We all appreciate the work she's done for the program and the university over the past few years and wish her all the best as she moves into this exciting new opportunity.
 
Look out for more changes to coach Seltzer's staff to be announced as the 2017 season, the Eagles' inaugural PacWest season, draws nearer.