AVCA All-America and Phenom Watch Lists; NFHS participation report; US Sitting Volleyball seeks three-peat gold
At The Net – August 28, 2024
AVCA First Serve Recap
The first match of AVCA First Serve Showcase went to Nebraska. The No. 2 Huskers took down No. 9 Kentucky 3-1. Then, No. 6 Louisville held serve, beating No. 3 Wisconsin, 3-1 in front of a crowd of 9,280 at the KFC Yum! Center.
GameChanger/AVCA Players of the Week: Debut Schedule
Division I – Sept. 2
Division II – Sept. 9
Division III – Sept. 2
Two-Year College – Aug. 28
Volleyball Stories
The NFHS released their latest high school sport sponsorship and participation report for the 2023-24 high school year. Girls volleyball saw an increase of 7,637 participants, for a total of 479,125 nationwide. Outdoor track and field, volleyball and soccer all registered increases and remained the top three participatory sports for girls.
Boys volleyball participation grew to 85,255, nearly 8,000 more than last year. Over the past five years, boys high school volleyball continues to be the fastest growing team sport by percentage in the country. Since 2005, boys volleyball has nearly doubled in participation.
Women’s Sitting Team Eyeing Three-peat at 2024 Paralympics
The U.S. Women have medaled in every Paralympic Games since women’s sitting was added to the slate in 2004. After winning bronze in Athens, they took silver in 2008 and silver again in London in 2016. The team finally broke through with a sweep over China for the gold at the 2016 Games in Rio, and followed it with gold over China again in Tokyo. The Paralympic Games open TODAY, Aug. 28 with the Opening Ceremony, live on USA and Peacock at 1 p.m. ET.
USA Volleyball is proud to announce that sitting volleyball athlete Nicky Nieves has been elected as one of the two flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games Paris 2024. Nieves was pivotal in helping Team USA secure its first Paralympic gold medal in sitting volleyball at the Rio Games in 2016.
In addition to her athletic excellence, Nieves has been vocal about the importance of mental health and disability advocacy.
Return to the court: University of Illinois’ Taylor De Boer’s health journey
A rising star in the volleyball world, De Boer was gearing up to play at the University of Illinois in 2023. But Taylor started having health problems. Taylor was sent to OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria. There, it was discovered she had Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA) Vasculitis. With close monitoring, Taylor is ready to compete in the upcoming season.
Celebrate the Wins – Time to Order Your AVCA Awards! It’s never too early to start recognizing greatness—order your awards now and let your team shine bright! Plus, order your own custom trophies, branded apparel, gifts, and more!
Weekly through September 29, the AVCA will will send out a one question survey – designed to take less than one minute of your time! Help the AVCA learn more about our community and improve member services. Each week, all participants will go into a drawing for one $50.00 VISA gift card. The Week 6 (August 18) winner of the $50.00 Visa Gift Card is: Kyle Exline, Head Men’s Volleyball Coach, North Central College (IL)!All who participated each of the 12 weeks will go into a Grand Prize drawing for a 2024 AVCA Complimentary Full Convention Registration Certificate! Questions? research@avca.org 866-544-2822.
Volleyball 4 All is a philanthropic fund established by the AVCA to support scholarships, social programs, and grassroot initiatives. The AVCA annually supports coaches who are entering the profession, providing them with the opportunity to attend the AVCA Convention and linking them with mentorship and other professional development opportunities. These three scholarship programs are entirely funded by the volleyball coaching community:
Coaches 4 Coaches
Diversity Awards
Student Athlete Demonstrator Scholarship
AVCA Education and Events
AVCA Convention – Register by September 20 to save $100! Plus, get early access to discounted hotel rooms and NCAA match tickets. Join us in Louisville, Kentucky December 18-22 for:
Check out “Breathing Life Into Old Drills” presented by Skutt Catholic (NE) High School Head Coach Renee Saunders during the 2024 AVCA Coach of the Year Super Clinic presented by Coaches Insider. Purchase access to other top coaches and stream AVCA Super Clinic sessions on-demand at your leisure.
The online AVCA Career Center allows job posters to advertise a job opening, search resumes, manage candidates, and market open positions. Job seekers have the opportunity to post a resume, search for open positions, create job alert notifications, and access free career management resources. Recent posts include:
Assistant Athletic Director – Dexter Volleyball Club
Quincy University Logo – Head Mens Volleyball Coach
Brandon Hapgood named Head Coach of Elms College Men’s and Women’s Volleyball.
Neilee’ Newton named Head Volleyball Coach at Alverno College.
The JVA is giving $200,000 Back to JVA Girls, Boys and Beach Clubs!
We are accepting applications through October 15 for beach programs and August 31st for indoor programs. We’ve increased the sponsorship amount for most of the Sponsor Levels! If your club has a girls or boys program AND a beach program you can APPLY FOR BOTH!
Attacking Drills to Train Proper Technique and Eliminate Bad Habits
To develop proper attacking technique it’s important to break down specific steps for athletes to follow. Repetition on proper technique will create good habits as will reception on improper technique will create bad habits. Here are drills to train proper attacking habits, and eliminate the bad ones.
