Four of the nation’s top collegiate volleyball teams – Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, and Wisconsin – will open the 2024 women’s season at the AVCA First Serve Showcase on Aug. 27 in Louisville, KY. The doubleheader will take place at the KFC Yum! Center, the same venue where the NCAA DI Women’s Volleyball National Championship will be held in December. Click here to learn more.
Don’t miss out on the savings. Register now for the 2024 AVCA Coach of the Year Virtual Super Clinic featuring top coaches from around the country. Prices go up on June 24 – Lock in your early-bird ticket now! On-demand access to session will be available after the clinic, and all attendees will receive access to Volleyball Coaches Insider +Plus.
Experience six-days of digital coaching education with multiple sessions created by current and past AVCA Coach of the Year award winners and volleyball practitioners, including head and assistant coaches from these participating teams:
In Memoriam
The AVCA sends its condolences to the family and friends of Mary Blalock, who passed away last week. She was a dedicated and highly regarded volleyball official, both domestically and internationally, who maintained longtime memberships with PAVO and USA Volleyball (Lone Star Region). Read more.
Volleyball Stories
USA Volleyball VNL Updates
The U.S. Women’s National Team qualified for the Volleyball Nations League Final Round on Sunday with a 3-0 win over host Japan. The U.S. Women finished the VNL Preliminary Round in seventh place at 7-5. They will travel straight to Bangkok, Thailand, where they will play Italy (10-2) in the quarterfinals at 3 a.m. PT on June 21.
The 12th ranked U.S. Men’s National Team will compete this week in the final preliminary round of the 2024 Volleyball Nations League in Manila, Philippines.
The U.S. Men (3-5) will play Iran (0-8), Brazil (5-3), Germany (3-5) and Japan (6-2). All but Iran have qualified for the Olympic Games. The top eight teams in the standings at the end of the preliminary round will advance to the VNL Final Round on June 27-30 in Łódź, Poland.
Watch the best of VNL, plus Big Ten matches, Beach tournaments, and lots more on Volleyball World TV!
Three-time gold medalist Misty May-Treanor to call beach volleyball at 2024 Paris Olympics
Misty May-Treanor, a three-time gold-medalist in women’s beach volleyball alongside partner Kerry Walsh Jennings, will make her Olympics broadcasting debut as an NBC analyst for beach volleyball in Paris. In addition: Chris Marlowe, captain of the United States’ Olympic gold-medal winning men’s volleyball team in 1984, will handle play-by-play duties, Kevin Wong enters his fourth Games as an analyst, and Dain Blanton, a two-time men’s beach volleyball Olympian, is the crew’s reporter.
Paris 2024 beach volleyball pools to be drawn on June 28 The drawing of lots to establish the seeding and the distribution into pools for the Olympic event will be held at the Olympic beach volleyball stadium in Champ-de-Mars Park at the foot of the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris on June 28. The ceremony will be streamed live on the Beach Volleyball World YouTube channel. 24 qualified teams in each gender will be split into six single round-robin pools of four for the first competition stage.
Twenty Selected for Men’s Collegiate National Team
The Men’s Collegiate National Team will train June 23-29 in Anaheim, Calif., at the national team training center. Nickie Sanlin, director of volleyball and head men’s coach at McKendree University, will serve as the team’s head coach. Spencer Wickens (Stanford), Luke Reynolds (Pepperdine) and Leandro Vissotto (South Florida) will assist her.
US Weekly: Texas Volleyball Star Madisen Skinner Sets Sights on 2028 Olympics Alongside Sister Avery After one championship-winning year with Kentucky Wildcats and two with Texas, Skinner is hoping for another winning season as she enters her senior year. As the recipient of the 2023 Honda Sports Award for volleyball and the youngest member of the U.S. women’s national volleyball team, her chances are high. Yet Skinner has even bigger goals beyond college, as she is hoping to follow in her sister’s footsteps and join her on the Olympic stage.
Inside the Big Ten’s strategic approach to scheduling an 18-team volleyball season
With Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA entering the Big Ten in August, the 18-team Big Ten stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans and across four time zones. Strategic scheduling and travel were more imperative this year than ever before for the Big Ten staff, especially for Olympic sports like women’s volleyball, of which each school has 20 conference matches.
In case you missed it: The National Christian College Athletic Association will begin sponsoring a men’s volleyball championship in 2025. The NCCAA, which has conducted a National Invitational the past six seasons, will have an estimated 20 teams competing next season for that first national title.
Men’s volleyball has been growing at the collegiate level across the United States with 249 programs across NCAA DI, DII, DIII, and the NAIA in 2023-24. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), boys’ volleyball has been growing about 12% annually in high schools since 2017-18.
NCAA.org profiled Olympians Daniela Álvarez and Tania Moreno, TCU beach volleyball student-athletes who will compete for Spain at Paris Games. Álvarez and Moreno are the first beach volleyball student-athletes in TCU program history to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Olympics.com profiled recent UCLA grad and men’s volleyball star Merrick McHenry. McHenry is using his platform, which includes being a member of the U.S. national team, to promote inclusivity on and off the court. Though McHenry won’t be part of Team USA at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, he’ll have his eyes toward a possible future Olympic run.
Among other upgrades, Coastal Carolina plans to break ground on an 8,000-seat convocation center for its basketball and volleyball teams in 2026. New Chants AD Chance Miller noted during his introductory press conference that CCU’s commitment to investing in facilities was a factor in his taking the job.
USA Volleyball is excited to launch Try Volleyball, a nationwide program designed to introduce kids to the sport of volleyball for the first time at fun, free clinics in their communities. Try Volleyball clinics are for first-eighth graders. They can be hosted by local volleyball clubs and sports organizations anywhere in the U.S. and are sanctioned by USA Volleyball and its 40 regions.
Women’s Sitting Team Wins 2024 Super 6 The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team captured the World ParaVolley Super 6 gold medal Sunday with a 3-1 win over China in Nancy, France. With the win, the U.S. established itself as a favorite to win the Paris Paralympic gold medal in September.
Men’s U21 Grabs Gold in Mexico at 2024 NORCECA Championship The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team took home gold at the 2024 NORCECA Continental Championship with a 3-0 win over Canada on Sunday evening in Nogales, Mexico. The victory guaranteed the U.S. a spot in the 2025 FIVB U21 World Championship.
Nominate your top high school athletes for a chance to be recognized when the Watch Lists are released in August. Uncommitted athletes on watch lists will also be invited to attend the AVCA Phenom College Prep Program December 19-21, 2024, in Louisville, KY.
Athletes Perspective of Coaches: What they Need From You Join three accomplished volleyball players as they share unfiltered insights into their playing experiences. Coaches will gain valuable perspectives on the coaching strategies that motivated and brought out their best, as well as moments when coaches could have done more.
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:
Volleyball Graduate Assistant – Belhaven University
Graduate Assistant Coach, Beach and Women’s Volleyball – Catawba College
Head Women’s Volleyball Coach – College of Marin
Asst Women’s Volleyball Coach – Seton Hall University
Director of Volleyball Operations – California State University, Fresno
Part-Time Coach Student Activities – Women’s Volleyball – Lone Star College
Head Men’s Volleyball Coach – Southwest Baptist University
McKendree University men’s volleyball head coach and director of volleyball Nickie Sanlin was named Head Coach of the USA Collegiate Men’s Volleyball National Team.
Jim Dietz has been named the Upper Iowa Head Volleyball Coach.
Texas Woman’s University announced the hiring of Jessica Ransomas the next head volleyball coach.
Johnson C. Smith University has named Da’Nesha Miller the new women’s volleyball head coach.
Dillard University has named Angela Franke as the next Head Women’s Volleyball Coach.
Matt August named Men’s Volleyball Head Coach at Benedictine Mesa.
Emma Rohde has been named the new head volleyball coach at the University of Mary Washington.
Missouri Valley College announces the hiring of Noah Cottermanas the new Head Coach for the men’s volleyball program.
JVA Member Appreciation Party is TOMORROW NIGHT!
You’re invited to the JVA Member Appreciation Party in Orlando, FL during the AAU Championships! It’s a night of appreciation and thanks to all JVA Club Directors, Coaches and Staff. Enjoy complimentary food, beverage and fun as we raise our glasses for all you do for the sport of volleyball! Learn more and RSVP HERE.
Next Call is Wednesday, July 3rd at 1pm ET!
During this 45 minute discussion, JVA Club Directors and Administrators share ideas, ask questions, and discuss important issues their club is facing. The discussion and content is driven by the attendees. Network with Directors across the country, listen, connect and learn from one another.
