Colin McMillan, volleyball star, pro player, coach got his start at LHS

Posted June 10, 2018 6:00 am

By Dale Eggert on behalf of Libertyville High School

Colin McMillan's Libertyville High School senior year picture. As a 6'8" senior (though just 170 pounds), this one of Colin's many kills for the LHS team in 1995. Courtesy of Dale Eggert

• The following is part of an ongoing series of articles in celebration of Libertyville High School's 100th anniversary.

The Boys Volleyball program didn't get the head start the girls' program had when the IHSA began the boys' state series. LHS started the boys' program in 1992 the same year boys volleyball became an IHSA-sponsored sport. Several programs had already been playing for several years before 1992. Steve Rochon began the LHS program and stayed at the helm for 19 years. During his time as LHS head coach, Rochon's team had a 357-279 record and won four regional titles. During coach Rochon's LHS tenure, his top player was Colin McMillan, a freshman in the program in 1992. He had an All-Conference senior season in 1995 (no All-State teams at that time). As a 6-foot-8-inch senior, McMillan caught the eye of several colleges including Ohio State, who signed Colin to play for the Buckeye team. While at OSU, now at 6-foot-11-inches, McMillan was named All-Conference each of his four years as well as earning four Scholar Athlete honors. Upon his OSU graduation, he held career team records in hitting percentage, total blocks and block assists. He finished eighth in career aces. The OSU team went 90-21 during McMillan's four years. He graduated with a double major in international business and marketing. In McMillan's senior season at Ohio State, his team reached the NCAA finals. Although they lost to champion UCLA in the finals, Colin was named to the All-Tournament team. From there McMillan played on several national teams, including the World University Games where his team became the first USA team to win the gold medal. McMillan played professionally in Turkey, France, Portugal and Puerto Rico before turning his attention to college coaching. Now for the back story: when McMillan came into the LHS program in 1992, he was 5-foot-8-inches with no volleyball experience. In fact, he was looking for a sport to play and planned to play tennis. But he missed the first tennis meeting, so he turned his attention to volleyball. He played on the JV team for two years. His family moved to Iowa his junior year. Although his high school didn't have a volleyball team, Colin was able to play nine months of club volleyball. The McMillans came back to Libertyville for Colin's senior year, where he became a star in leading the LHS team to their first boys' volleyball winning record. After finishing his professional career, McMillan joined the Penn State Coaching Staff in 2008. His team won the NCAA title in his first year. After nine years as a PSU assistant coach, McMillan was named Associate Head Coach in 2017. In addition to his Penn State Coaching duties, McMillan is regularly asked to coach Youth National Teams. He is currently in Colorado preparing a Youth National Team for a World Championship qualifying tournament. Colin McMillan was inducted into the Lake County High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Colin McMillan, right, goes up for a block in the 2000 NCAA Championship game for Ohio State against UCLA. McMillan was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. Courtesy of the Ohio State Sports Information Department

McMillan has been on the Penn State coaching staff for 11 years, here talking with one his players in a pregame warmup. Courtesy of Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

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