New USA Volleyball CEO; Officials Appreciation Week
At The Net – October 1, 2024
AVCA Girls & Women’s Volleyball Officials Appreciation Week September 27 – October 5, 2024 is the 4th Annual American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Girls and Women’s Volleyball Officials Appreciation Week. 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 of ensuring that we treat our officials in a manner befitting their role in helping girls and women’s volleyball become one of the United States most popular sports.
Want to see your team added to the participants list?Email AVCA with the name of your team, state, date of your event, and links to social media posts.
USA Volleyball Announces John Speraw as President & CEO
Prior to becoming the eighth CEO of USA Volleyball, Speraw has served as head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team since 2013 and has been part of the team’s leadership for almost two decades. Speraw has been the head men’s volleyball coach at UCLA since 2012 and guided the Bruins to the NCAA Division I-II National Championship in 2023 and 2024. Speraw is also the founder of First Point Volleyball, an organization dedicated to supporting the growth of boys’ and men’s volleyball across the country.
Washington & Jefferson College is excited to announce the addition of women’s wrestling and men’s volleyball. Both teams are expected to begin their full competition varsity seasons during the 2026-27 academic year, and will compete in the NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball is back! 44 of the world’s best volleyball players take the court in Mesa, Arizona from October 3 – November 4. Watch live on ESPN, VBTV, and Bally Sports networks, or Following the completion of the season, all 30 matches will be added to the Athletes Unlimited YouTube channel.
On Thursday, plaintiffs’ and NCAA attorneys submitted the revised long-form House v. NCAA settlement. NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement Friday afternoon addressing the state of the NIL landscape and calling for Congressional assistance.
For the first time in its history, the AVCA will select a Girls High School National Player of the Year, presented by Nike Volleyball. A Watch List of 24 athletes has been created in advance of the announcement of four Player of the Year Finalists on November 18. The winner of the inaugural award will be announced live in Louisville, Kentucky at the AVCA All-America Banquet on December 20.
Back to school … back to volleyball!
Keep your athletes motivated on the court and in the classroom. If you earned the 2024 AVCA Team Academic Award, sponsored by INTENT, order your plaque now and let your team’s accomplishments shine bright! Visit www.rixstine.com/avca to get started.
Nominations now accepted for the AVCA Victory Club! Celebrate your milestone career wins – High School and Collegiate (indoor and beach) AVCA member head coaches are eligible for recognition.
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 2024 season! Email Pat Henderson or tag AVCA on social media.
The Texas A&M volleyball team broke the program’s attendance record in a hard-fought 3-1 loss to the No. 8 Texas Longhorns Friday evening in Reed Arena.
The LSU Tigers Sunday’s attendance of 3,885 fans, along with Friday, Sept. 20th’s attendance of 3,547 fans, represents the largest crowds ever for collegiate volleyball matches in Louisiana!
Voting for AVCA President-Elect, National Collegiate (NCAA D-I/II) Men, NCAA D-III Men, High School, and Club Volleyball Representatives positions on the AVCA Board of Directors will be conducted October 22-25. Interested candidates must contact kennedy.wells@avca.org
Help the AVCA learn more about our community and improve member services! Each week, participants will go into a drawing for one $50.00 VISA gift card. The Week 11 winner is: Mike Rumbaugh, Head Men’s Volleyball Coach, Saint Francis University! All who participate in all 12 weekly surveys will go into a Grand Prize drawing for a 2024 AVCA Complimentary Full Convention Registration Certificate! Questions? research@avca.org
AVCA Education and Events
2024 AVCA Phenom College Prep Program Registration
Coaches and parents: check your inbox for your registration link, sent Sept. 25!The AVCA Phenom College Prep Program is an invitation-only event for uncommitted girls volleyball athletes (seniors on the AVCA All-American Watch List and uncommitted underclassmen on the AVCA Phenom List).
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 attending the AVCA Convention. The 2024 AVCA Boys Showcase will take place at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, December 21, and the optional add-on AVCA Boys Showcase Clinic is the evening of Friday, December 20.
2024 JVA Club Management Track Schedule is Released
The JVA is excited to facilitate a long list of indoor and beach volleyball educational sessions at the 2024 AVCA Convention and NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships in Louisville, Kentucky December 18-22, 2024. The classroom and court sessions sponsored by the JVA feature a number of seasoned Club Directors, Coaches and Youth Sports Leaders covering a wide array of topics that will make this year’s Convention one you must attend! View the schedule, RSVP and find out what’s new this year!
Latest educational content includes:
Setters: Weighted Ball Wall Warmup with Adam Brewster – Tabor College
What Does it Take to Hold Someone Accountable? with Stephen Mackey – 2Words Character Development
Island Exile Drill with Jenny Glenn – Metropolitan State Univ. of Denver
Sideline Strategy: A Volleyball Podcast
JVA’s new Podcast Sideline Strategy: A Volleyball Podcast is excited to release its first episode, hosted with Beach Nation. The podcast will regularly share educational resources for youth volleyball directors, coaches, parents, and players! At JVA, our focus is helping the volleyball community grow and providing the tools to help volleyball leaders!
We wrap up the start of conference play with the top few teams standing apart entering October, Mick and Daniel break down the Top 25 and highlight the standout performances from the week in WVB!
New episode Wednesday: Our guest will be Purdue Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Dave Shondell will discuss the fight for the Big Ten title, the Big 10 Conference, and his take on the teams to watch in the power 4 conferences.
ESPN and Big Ten Network volleyball analyst Emily Ehman and VolleyballMag editor Lee Feinswog get together for their weekly NCAA volleyball Zoom after Emily got back from quite a road trip. She called, among others last week, the Stanford-at-Louisville match.
They talk about the rankings, what’s ahead, and plenty more, including cool apparel from Creighton.
