When the St. Thomas athletic department contacted Paul Mainieri, the College World Series-winning coach thought he was being scheduled for another speaking engagement.

Little did the St. Thomas alumnus know he was being inducted into the Bobcats' sports Hall of Fame.

Mainieri on Sunday was honored as the fourth inductee into the St. Thomas Hall of Fame in addition to serving as the keynote speaker for a fundraiser.

Mainieri, 52, coached baseball at St. Thomas from 1983 to 1988 while also serving as the program's athletic director.

``I was very honored that they even called me to speak,'' Mainieri said. ``I've always been proud to be a part of the St. Thomas athletic family, so for them to choose me for this honor is just amazing. I am very honored and very blessed.''

While coaching at St. Thomas, Mainieri averaged 30 wins per season, and four teams finished the season ranked in the top 10 in Division II. After leaving St. Thomas, Mainieri made stops at Air Force and Notre Dame, then to Louisiana State University in 2006, where he led the Tigers to a CWS championship in June.

Mainieri said that most memorable thing from his time at St. Thomas was the players.

``I had such great groups of kids while I was here,'' Mainieri said during his 35-minute speech. ``They had such a desire to do the right things and a desire to work hard on and off the field, it was just a pleasure for me to coach them.''

At the end of the night, Mainieri put the honor in perspective.

``Every thing here was just first class, the facility [the new Fernandez Family Center], the event, the dinner, just everything,'' Mainieri said. ``And what makes this extra special for me is that my daughter Alexandra, who was just a baby when I started my career, gets to see what kind of special things her dad has been a part of.''

-- J.T. WILCOX

VOLLEYBALL

• FIU d. Louisiana-Lafayette 25-12, 25-17, 25-21: The Golden Panthers wrapped up a three-match road swing with a victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.

With its 17th consecutive victory, FIU improves to 24-2 overall and 14-0 in the Sun Belt Conference.

• Virginia d. Miami 25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-10: Miami's Lane Carico recorded 21 kills and 23 digs, but the University of Virginia (10-14, 5-8 ACC) edged the visiting Hurricanes (14-9, 7-6) in Charlottesville, Va.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

• Virginia 2, Miami 0: The Hurricanes (8-10-1, 3-6-1 ACC) played their final game of the 2009 season, falling to host University of Virginia (9-5-4, 4-4-2).

Five seniors played in their final collegiate match for Miami -- Paulelett Ricks-Chambers, Danielle Griebel, Courtney Alexander and captains Jessica Wyble and Beverly Goebel.

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