AVCA Spring Official Appreciate Week Begins Tomorrow
March 20-28, 2026, is the 4th Annual American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Spring Volleyball Officials Appreciation Week. Spring #OFFICIATIONWEEK2026 is a nine day period set aside for boys, men’s, beach, club and pro volleyball teams to make sure our officials know how grateful the volleyball community is for the integral role they play. As coaches, you are the leaders, student-athletes, parents, and fans will follow your example of ensuring we treat our officials in a manner befitting their role in helping volleyball become one of the most popular sports.
View the list of athletes receiving to the 2026 AVCA/MaxPreps Player of the Week Award. In order for players to be featured on the list, coaches must update their athletes’ stats each week on MaxPreps.com.
The AVCA announced the annual Boys’ High School Senior All-America volleyball athlete Watch List and High Risers List for the 2025-26 season. This year’s watch list features 597 high school senior athletes. The list serves as the starting point for the Boys’ High School Senior All-America selection process. In June, the AVCA will name 20 student-athletes as an All-American, with 10 players being selected to both a First-Team and Second-Team.
An AVCA High Riser is a non-senior high school male athlete that has showcased themselves already as an up-and-coming top athlete in the sport. This year’s list features 551 total athletes.
The AVCA announced three groups of recipients—College, Club, and High School—for its 2026 Thirty Under 30 Awards. Congratulations to the following men’s and boys’ coaches:
Wellington Afusia, Ottawa University Arizona Head Coach
Tessa Corrales, Reinhardt University Head Coach
Brian Hoff, Ball State University Assistant Coach
Dylan Ross, Loras College Head Coach
Dustin Stueck, Bryant and Stratton College Assistant Coach
Jarrett Anderson, IMG Academy Assistant Coach
Patrick Curry, Longmeadow High School Head Coach
Matthew Stacklin, Three Rivers Taylor High School Assistant Coach
Daniel Thews, Christopher Columbus High School Head Coach
Submit a proposal to be considered as a speaker for on-court, beach court or classroom presentations at the AVCA Annual Convention. The application window will close on May 11.
Great Bend USD 428 Activities Director Matt Westerhaus told the school board about new sports that may soon be recognized by the Kansas State High School Activities Association.
This week’s MasterCoaches Wednesday Weekly Buzz focused on discussing the growth and operations of the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) with its president, Doug Hinton.
USA Volleyball has selected the athletes who will represent the United States on the 2026 Beach U18 National Team at the 2026 FIVB Beach Volleyball U18 World Championship, scheduled for July 8-12 in The Hague, Netherlands.
“Welcome to the 2026 NCAA Division III men’s volleyball season, where the only thing more unpredictable than the rankings is whether your favorite team will look like world-beaters or confused tourists from one match to the next.”
The 2026 season is underway and Middle Hitter will be releasing a three part series that previews the boys’ high school season. Coaches, leaders and influencers in the volleyball community of all states were reached out by our Middle Hitter staff to contribute.
The first NCAA NPI rankings are finally here, which means the road to the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship has officially begun.
While conference races are still developing and several contenders have major matches left on the schedule, the release of the first NPI provides our first real glimpse into how the NCAA committee currently views the national landscape.
