September 27, 2023

REGISTER TODAY – 2023 AVCA Convention in Tampa, Florida!

Over 100 sessions in the classroom & on the court
Small group opportunities to interact with & learn from top coaches
Banquets celebrating elite coaches & athletes
Countless chances to connect with old friends & create new relationships at networking & social events
The world’s largest gathering of volleyball specific vendors offering exclusive discounts

Tampa Bay area prepares for NCAA Championship

When the Tampa Bay Sports Commission hosted the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational, the event attracted more than 13,500 fans to downtown Tampa and the USF campus. It was a prelude to the NCAA Volleyball Championship, which heads to Tampa’s Amalie Arena on December 14-17. TBSC will be “laser-focused’’ on setting the NCAA Volleyball championship match attendance record (18,755, set in 2021 when Wisconsin defeated Nebraska in Columbus). In December, the championship match will be shown on ABC-TV for the first time. Instead of the traditional Saturday night window, the final will be played on Sunday afternoon, likely providing unprecedented exposure. More here from Joey Johnston, for NCAA and Volleyballmag.com.

NCAA DI Women’s Volleyball Committee Top 10 Rankings

The NCAA DI Women’s Volleyball Committee revealed its first in-season top-10 rankings Sunday afternoon during the Tennessee-Kentucky match. Notable dates:

Sunday, Oct. 29: Second NCAA Committee top-10 reveal of 2023, during Washington-Oregon match: 3 p.m. ET | ESPN2
Sunday, Nov. 26: Official tournament bracket announced: 6 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Thursday, Dec. 14: NCAA semifinals: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Sunday, Dec. 17: 2023 DI Women’s Volleyball National Championship: 3 p.m. ET | ABC

Where to Watch This Week’s Top Matches: Make sure to check out the complete list of where to watch this week’s matches between Top 25 teams for Division I, II, and III.

Northwestern and Oregon both set new program attendance records on Friday night:

4,889 fans filled Welsh-Ryan Arena to see Northwestern vs. Wisconsin.
Oregon had a straight-set win over Oregon State in front of a record crowd of 7,334 at Matthew Knight Arena.

Did your team set an attendance record? Share with the AVCA!

The AVCA is seeking to promote schools breaking program, conference, or overall attendance records during the 2023 season! We will share social media posts and are creating a special page on our website listing attendance records. Email Pat Henderson or tag AVCA on social media!

Full 2022-23 participation survey data from the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) confirms that girls volleyball participation is at its highest number ever, and is still the top high school girls team sport. Boys high school volleyball grew in 22-23 to a total number of 77,287 participants.

#OFFICIATIONWEEK – AVCA Girls & Women’s Volleyball Officials Appreciation Week: September 29 – October 7, 2023

#OFFICIATIONWEEK has become a proud tradition among hundreds of high school and collegiate volleyball teams. This nine-day period is set aside to make sure our officials know they are part of the sport. As coaches, you are the leaders, student-athletes, parents, and fans will follow your example to ensure we treat our officials in a manner befitting their role in helping girls and women’s volleyball become one most popular sports in the nation. Join us in celebrating the 3rd Annual AVCA Girls and Women’s Volleyball Officials Appreciation Week September 29 – October 7: CLICK HERE to learn more!

This year, we’ve added a 2023 AVCA #OFFICIATIONWEEK Toolkit with ideas to take your #OFFICIATIONWEEK event to the next level plus resources on becoming an official, sportsmanship & more!

AVCA Boys Talent Showcase – Register Your Athletes Today!

The AVCA Boys Talent Showcase is a recruiting event designed to provide high school boys the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of the collegiate coaches that attend the AVCA Convention in Tampa, Florida. The cost $99 per athlete. Athletes that choose to register will:

participate in the talent showcase [on Saturday, December 16]
athletics metric testing called the AVCA Volleyball Performance Index
receive insight into the collegiate recruiting process and tips to improve their visibility
Learn more and register athletes here!

Catawba College will add Men’s Volleyball as its 24th varsity intercollegiate sport, with its first season of competition set to start in January 2025. Catawba will begin competition as an independent and will regularly compete with schools in Conference Carolinas, which sanctions an eight-team conference for Men’s Volleyball. The program will takes the 2023-24 academic year to recruit before preparing for its inaugural season of competition. Coach is TBA.

Volleyball is the fastest growing team sport in the country for boys, as 66,000 now participate at the high school level, a 23% increase in the last five years. Volleyball was the only team sport for boys to grow during the pandemic.

St. Thomas University (STU) Athletics announced the addition of Men’s Volleyball as the departments 31st varsity sport, and named the program’s inaugural head coach: STU alum and Women’s Assistant Coach, Breno Ertty. The program will now begin recruiting for their inaugural season in Spring 2025.

St. Thomas is the first official South Florida collegiate department to add it to their roster at a varsity level. The Bobcats are the fourth team overall in Florida, joining Sun Conference opponents Webber International and Warner and NCAA DII Edward Waters. At the NAIA level, there are currently just over 60 teams that sponsor the championship sport.

AVCA/GameChanger National Players of the Week

USA TODAY/AVCA Girls Volleyball Rankings

Super 25

September 21
September 15

Regional Rankings

September 21
September 15

MaxPreps/AVCA High School Player of the Week

September 25
September 18

Want your athletes considered for Player of the Week? No nomination required – just update stats in your free MaxPreps account!

Follow AVCA on your favorite social media platforms, including our new TikTok account, for the latest volleyball updates, polls, and fun videos!

NAIA Women’s Volleyball

Coaches Top 25

#3 – September 27
#2 – September 13

2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Players of the Week

NJCAA Volleyball Rankings

2023 CCCWVCA Women’s Volleyball Rankings

September 25
September 18

2023 TicketSmarter-NWAC Volleyball Coaches’ Poll

September 19
September 5

*Collegiate Partner polls are conducted by their respective organizations & not managed by AVCA.

QUALIFIED! U.S. Women Punch Ticket for Paris 2024

The U.S. Women’s National Team qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Sunday when it defeated Germany 3-1 at the FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier in Łódź, Poland. The U.S. Women finished the tournament with a 6-1 record. They qualified for their 11th straight Olympic Games and 13th overall. The U.S. Women finished first in the group and also improved their world ranking to No. 2. The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team has already qualified for the 2024 Paralympic Games. The U.S. Men’s National Team will attempt to qualify Sept. 30-Oct. 8 in Tokyo, Japan.

U.S. Men Win Gold at 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Final Six

The U.S. Men’s National Team took gold at the 2023 NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six after defeating Canada on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta. The U.S. did not lose a match throughout the tournament and only dropped one set over the course of their six matches. This is the third year of the Pan Am Final Six and the first gold for the U.S. since this tournament began. The team placed third in the two previous years.

Volleyball Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament – Road to Paris 2024

The Men’s Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifiers are Sept. 30 September to Oct. 8 with Olympic quotas at stake. Only twelve teams will compete for gold at Paris 2024, including Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions France, who are are automatic qualifiers as hosts. The top teams of each of the three groups will gain qualification berths for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Team USA will compete in Pool B vs. hosts Japan, plus Slovenia, Serbia, Türkiye, Tunisia, Egypt, and Finland. Lots more here. All matches from the Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments will be streamed live on Volleyball TV.

How the effects of conference realignment could show up in Team USA’s performance at future Summer Olympics

The demise of the Pac-12 over the summer doesn’t just portend an earthquake in a rapidly evolving college sports landscape. To Olympic leaders, it represents anything from a challenge to an outright threat to the United States’ success in the Games. Roughly 75% of the U.S. team in Tokyo in 2021 competed collegiately. So did nearly 85% of medalists in Rio five years prior. Because the developmental pipeline runs through them, it leaves the U.S. team’s success, to some degree, in the hands of athletic directors and university presidents juggling other interests. Add to realignment a continued shift in collegiate sports that could include revenue sharing for athletes and the collegiate model is headed for more change. That means the Olympic movement is, too. Read more from Sports Business Journal.

JVA NEXT for the Next Generation of Club Directors and Leaders

JVA NEXT supports the next generation of Club Directors and Leaders through education, events and resources. Complete this form if you are interested in receiving information related to the education, events and resources that JVA NEXT offers. The first event will be held on Friday, December 15th at the AVCA Convention in Tampa, Florida.

Prevent AVCA newsletters, awards information, educational offerings and other updates from going to your spam folder: Fill out this form and designate mailer@infusionmail.com as a safe sender to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your membership!

Six Rotations – Conference Play Kicks off with 2 New Polls… PLUS: BYU’s OH Erin Livingston

It’s a whale of an episode as Mick and Daniel have 3 different rankings to discuss, as well as some incredible upcoming conference matches, then they finish with a chat with BYU’s standout OH Erin Livingston ahead of their two matches in Austin against new conference foe Texas! Watch here!

This week our topic is “Olympic Qualifications and Collegiate DI conference performances.” Of course the best person to have when talking about our national teams and their quest to qualify, is none other than world renowned expert Dr. Douglas Beal. He will lay out what the women have just accomplished and what it means while exploring the upcoming challenges facing the men. Doug will continue to give us his objective views on the collegiate women’s game as well. Our other guest is newly retired Colorado States University’s winningest coach Tom Hilbert. He will give us some perspectives on the international game as well as first hand knowledge concerning this year’s women’s collegiate game, conference performances and realignment.

Last week on the MasterCoaches Wednesday Weekly Buzz our topic was “The PVF Rooster Review.” We interviewed two of our PVF coaches Todd Dagenais & Shelton Collier. They both introduced us to their respective rosters and provided our listeners with some personal insights on these athletes. We also asked them to fill us in on some of the inner workings around this new pro league.

This week’s show will be live on Facebook: tune in Wednesday, September 27 at 2pm ET. You can also view this week’s show and past shows at volleyballmastercoaches.com.

Volleyball Coaches Insider – latest educational content includes:

Middles Warmup: Tracking the Ball – Jessica Burke – St. Thomas More Catholic High School
Serving Breakout Sessions – Kaylee Prigge – University of Wyoming
Assistant Coach Checklist – Denise Corlett – (Retired) Stanford University
Click here for more Volleyball articles and videos!

2023 AVCA Board of Directors Elections

Voting for the Two-Year College Representative and NCAA D-III Women’s Representative positions on the AVCA Board of Directors will be conducted October 24-27, 2023.

Candidates interested in seeking any available AVCA board positions need to present a written notification of interest via e-mail to Kennedy Wells. Upon receipt of the written notification of interest, it will be required to also complete the AVCA Board Questionnaire (which will be sent upon receipt of the written notification of interest) by Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 5:00p.m. Eastern Time. Both the written notification of interest and the AVCA Board Questionnaire must be completed by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, October 19th to be eligible for this election.

Any interested candidates must be at least 21 years of age, be an active coach within the coaching group (Two-Year College and NCAA D-III Women) they will represent and shall be an active AVCA member in good standing on the date of election through their term(s) on the AVCA Board.

Current Two-Year College Representative Coach Shelby Forchtner (New Mexico Military Institute) will be seeking her first full three-year term after being appointed to the Board upon the retirement of Coach Paula Wiedemann. Current NCAA D-III Women Representative Coach Erica Rau (Oberlin College) will be the incumbent and will be seeking a second three-year term.

Coach Erin Lindsey (Santa Clara), Awards Representative will exit the board effective December 31, 2023. A new Awards Representative will be appointed by the AVCA president effective (retroactive to) January 1, 2024. The board will take final action at the December meeting on a Bylaw change to institute a non-voting At-Large Representative board seat effective (retroactive to) January 1, 2023. Direct any questions to AVCA Board of Directors staff liaison Kennedy Wells at kennedy.wells@avca.org or 859-219-3556.

AVCA Thirty Under 30 High School and New AVCA Thirty OVER 30 Award – Nominations Open Soon

The AVCA Thirty Under 30 Program is receiving a fresh look and a new twist this fall. In addition to the continuation of the Thirty Under 30 High School Award, the AVCA is proud to add the NEW! Thirty OVER 30 Award to this recognition and engagement program offering.

The criteria for the Thirty Under 30 High School Award remain unchanged. Nominees/Award winners must be active AVCA members and be 30 years old OR younger before December 31, 2023.

Below are the program criteria for the new Thirty OVER 30 Award:

Award winners must be active AVCA members. You do not need to be an active AVCA to submit a nomination.
Award winners must be able to document at least 30 or more years as an active volleyball coach at any level and/or discipline of the sport.

AND/OR

Nominees/Award winners must be 30+ year members of the AVCA. Member since at least 1993.
Other factors such as community service, demonstrated engagement in the sport of volleyball, with AVCA, etc. may be considered for selection.

Nominations for both Awards open Monday, October 2nd and will end on Tuesday, October 31st. A press release announcing the Award winners will be sent out in mid-November.

University of Pennsylvania has announced the multi-year contract renewal of head volleyball coach Meredith Schamun. Schamun is in her fourth year and third season leading the Penn volleyball program after serving as an assistant coach at Villanova, Tulane and UCF.

Need information for your contract negotiation or job hunt? Click here for the latest AVCA Salary Survey and AVCA Career Center resources. (2023 salary surveys will be conducted this summer.)

AVCA Career Center: Find Your Next Job or Hire a Coach

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. Click here to get started! Recent listings include:

Assistant Beach Volleyball Coach – Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, TX)
Beach Volleyball Graduate Assistant Coach – East Texas Baptist University (Marshall, TX)
Associate Director, Athletic Communications – Volleyball & Softball – Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX)

Dominican University athletics has named Doug Burchett the new men’s volleyball head coach.

Stanford Men’s Volleyball welcomes two new coaches: 1st Assistant/Recruiting Coordinator Taylor Hammond and 2nd Assistant Spencer Wickens.