October 4, 2023

REGISTER TODAY – 2023 AVCA Convention in Tampa, Florida!

Featured Session: Pre-Convention Seminar: Skill Development Training for your Athletes, Tactics, and Drills from the Pros – presented by RIP-IT

Join us for a deep dive into training. Immerse yourself in a dynamic learning experience as top-tier coaches from the Professional Volleyball Federation share invaluable insights into refining players’ skills, implementing effective tactics, and unleashing a library of specialized drills. Elevate your coaching prowess and equip your athletes from every level with the expertise of elite coaches, setting a solid foundation for excellence on the volleyball court.

Featured Speakers:

Coaches from the Professional Volleyball Federation
Jim McLaughlin, Jordyn Poulter & Courtney Thompson – League One Volleyball (LOVB)

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

DI Council introduces proposals to boost student-athlete NIL protections

The Division I Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to introduce several proposals intended to enhance student-athlete protections regarding their name, image and likeness rights. The move will not be final until the conclusion of the council meeting Wednesday. The proposals, which could be adopted in January, include development of a voluntary registry for NIL service providers; requirements for disclosure and aggregate reporting of certain elements of NIL agreements; development of best practices for NIL contracts; and the creation of an education program for prospects and current student-athletes, as well as service providers and licensees. Continue reading.

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!

Final attendance for the UW Oshkosh vs. UW Stevens Point match on Sept. 26 was 2,725, shattering previous records: regular season home – 674, and overall home – 969. Total home attendance for UWO last SEASON was only 2,643! The new record also ties for third all-time in Division III WVB.

#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!

Don’t Miss the 2023 ESPN Girls Volleyball Showcase!

On October 6, two matches featuring AVCA/USA Today Top 25 teams will air on EPSN networks. Broadcasting live from host Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, TX, Anne Marie Anderson and Holly McPeak will interview the coaches and provide expert commentary.

Nominations Open FRIDAY: AVCA Girls High School All-America & AVCA Girls High School Best and Brightest Awards

Online nominations open: Friday, October 6 through Monday, October 16

Two forms of nomination are required: a MaxPreps stats submission for the athlete as well as an AVCA nomination form. Stats submissions will be completed via the MaxPreps website, while the AVCA Nomination form link will be emailed to AVCA member high school coaches on October 6th.

In order to be eligible for the Best and Brightest Award, Senior athletes must earn at least a 3.5 Unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) during their Junior year AND play in 50% of their Varsity team’s sets during their Senior season. The nomination will be included in the AVCA All-American form as an optional additional section. Athletes do not have to be named to one of the AVCA All-America teams in order to qualify for AVCA Best and Brightest and vice versa.

*Please note, being on the AVCA All-America Watch List does NOT serve as a nomination for the AVCA All-America Teams or AVCA Best and Brightest Awards. High school Head Coaches must submit the second formal nomination between October 6-16, 2023, in order for athletes to be eligible.*

Nominate today: AVCA Thirty Under 30 High School and New AVCA Thirty OVER 30 Award

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.

Nominations for both Awards close Tuesday, October 31st. A press release announcing the Award winners will be sent out in mid-November.

AVCA Victory Club – Nominations Now Accepted

The AVCA recognizes all member head coaches who have reached milestone career wins of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, or 1,000+ matches at their current level of coaching. Winners will be recognized on Friday, December 15 at the 2023 AVCA Annual Convention in Tampa, FL. Submit your milestone wins here!

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!

Westminster College [DIII] Adds Men’s Volleyball

Blue Jays men’s volleyball will officially begin competing in the spring of 2025 under current Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Dalton Tucker, who will step into the new role while maintaining his current women’s volleyball coaching responsibilities. The addition of men’s volleyball takes into account a relatively recent decision by the Missouri State High School Activities Association to transition boys’ volleyball into a sanctioned sport. More here.

Cutting Men’s Teams And Title IX: Where Does The Money Go?

This feature from AthleticDirectorU.com by Dr. Anne Marx, Loras College and Dr. Joel Cormier, Eastern Kentucky, outlines what happens to the budget resources allocated to a men’s DI team when that team was cut. Although reports specifying where institutions plan to reallocate funds when they make the decision to eliminate a men’s team are scarce, athletic directors have identified budget constraints, Title IX, and declining interest as the main reasons why programs were cut. Full research, citations, and references available here.

AVCA/GameChanger National Players of the Week

USA TODAY/AVCA Girls Volleyball Rankings

Super 25

September 28
September 21

Regional Rankings

September 28
September 21

MaxPreps/AVCA High School Player of the Week

October 2
September 25

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 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

October 2
September 25

2023 Ticketsmarter-NWAC Volleyball Coaches’ Poll

October 3
September 19

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

Don’t Miss the JVA Club Management Track in Tampa, FL December 13th

You’re invited to the JVA Club Management Track in Tampa, FL during the AVCA Convention! It’s an afternoon consisting of (5) 30 minute educational sessions followed by a 10 minute Q&A with all sessions focused on the facets of running a junior volleyball club. Following the sessions is the JVA Annual Gathering and Keynote Speaker Trevor Ragan, Founder and Content Creator of The Learner Lab. A Happy Hour presented by Hudl will continue until 6:30pm with food, beverages, prizes and small group discussion. Don’t miss the BEST Volleyball Club Director networking event of the year! Learn more and RSVP here.

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!

The new season of Athletes Unlimited Volleyball gets underway this week in Mesa, Arizona! The women’s professional volleyball league features 44 of the best women’s professional volleyball players in the world. Season 3 matches will take place at Mesa’s Legacy Park over the next five weeks, concluding Nov. 6.

U.S. Men Outlast Türkiye in Road to Paris Matchup

The U.S. Men’s National Team lost its first set in the FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier on Tuesday, but the team outlasted Türkiye 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 32-30, 25-20) to stay undefeated. At the qualifier, which runs through Oct. 8, eight teams are each playing seven matches over nine days. The top two teams will qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games. The U.S. Men (3-0) will play Tunisia (0-3) at 12 a.m. PT today. The U.S. and Slovenia are currently the only two undefeated teams in their group. More here.

Volleyball Coaches Insider – latest educational content includes:

Power Tipping: Middle Attacking Warmups with Dan Meske
Culture: Vision and Habits with Kevin DeShazo – Culture Wins
Passing: Deflection Angle with Mick Haley – Volleyball MasterCoaches
Click here for more Volleyball articles and videos!

Six Rotations – The End of the Pac-12 is Proving to be Memorable! PLUS: WSU’s Magda Jehlarova

The Pac-12 takes center stage as we enter October, Mick and Daniel break down an incredible Washington State-Oregon Top-10 duel and preview the Top-5 Stanford vs Washington State showdown Sunday… Then they discuss the undefeateds (Wisconsin & Nebraska) and a fun weekend in the Big 12 with Texas-BYU, Kansas-Houston, and Iowa-Baylor, all of whom are ranked! Then they are joined by 3-time All-American MB Madga Jehlarova as she talks about Washington State’s steady rise with a largely international lineup. Watch here!

Last week on the MasterCoaches Wednesday Weekly Buzz our topic was “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. The MasterCoaches honored Doug by calling him the “Father of Modern Volleyball” which he did not acknowledge and would be the first to give credit to everyone involved with the 1984 gold medal staff. He laid out what the women have just accomplished and what it means while exploring the upcoming challenges facing the men. Doug also gave 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 gave 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.

This week show title is “Is there still LOVE for LOVB” The MasterCoaches will be interviewing Kevin Wong, one of the co-founders of LOVB. The MasterCoaches will be asking a myriad of questions about LOVB from the mission, clubs, signing of national team players and much more… We are hoping to learn as much as possible about their operation, current and future plans.

This week’s show will be live on Facebook: tune in Wednesday, October 4 at 2pm ET. You can also view this week’s show and past shows at volleyballmastercoaches.com.

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.

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 published this fall.

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: