UAlbany Women's Volleyball Head Coach MJ Engstrom Welcomes Three New Assistants to Staff

Albany, N.Y. - Adam Martel and Caley Carter-Knudsen have been hired as assistant volleyball coaches, as announced today by University at Albany head coach MJ Engstrom. BT Knudsen will also join the UAlbany staff as a volunteer assistant coach.

Martel comes to UAlbany after a two-year stint as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Boston College. While with the Eagles, Martel was involved in all aspects of the program, including training, scouting, game planning, community outreach and alumni relations. He was involved in bringing in a top-30 recruiting class to the Boston College program in 2009, including one of the top 50 setters and middle blockers in the country. He coached two players who earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Team honors. Martel was also responsible for implementing the Eagles' first "Dig Pink" event, which raised more than $4,000 for breast cancer awareness and research and was the co-director of the Boston College summer camps.

Martel, a 2005 graduate of Merrimack College, has also been an assistant coach for the USA Olympic High Performance team, and was the head coach for the Boston University club volleyball team. Martel's BU squad was ranked 29th nationally and finished with an overall record of 29-9 in 2008. He was responsible for all aspects of running the club program, including recruiting, budget and travel.

Carter-Knudsen is currently a professional volleyball player in Europe, where she has been competing for the last five years. She led the Odense Women's Professional team to seven championship gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze at the Danish Cup and Danish Nationals Championships. A team captain on back-to-back championship teams, Carter-Knudsen was a two-time Danish Team of the Year Outside Hitter and was runner-up for Danish Player of the Year twice.

Carter-Knudsen, who played for Engstrom at Nicholls State from 2002-04, helped lead the Colonels to a conference championship and was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year. A team captain, she was an all-conference first-team selection and was the Southland Conference Tournament MVP.

Knudsen will work with the UAlbany program on a volunteer basis. He is a three-time Danish Professional Volleyball Libero of the Year and was a five-time runner up for the award. Knudsen has led the Danish Men's Professional team to five Danish Championship gold medals and two Nordic Championship gold medals. He also has extensive coaching experience, leading two professional club and women's professional teams to Danish Championship titles. He also co-founded a youth volleyball league at Emory University and coaches summer volleyball camps at Emory and Auburn University.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information