July 20, 2023

The BIC

The BIC is the official AVCA newsletter for men and boys volleyball. If there is a specific topic or news you would like shared in a future issue, please contact Brad Wilson at bradley.wilson@avca.org.

Gold Medal Squared Tip

Marv Dunphy and Courtney Thompson Tips

Marv Dunphy and Courtney Thompson give us some tips about how to help an athlete who may not be as motivated as we’d like them to be. Specifically, Marv speaks to the idea of 1 on 1 interaction rather than working through the issue with the group.

Men’s Volleyball Nations League

The 2023 Men’s Volleyball Nations League has reached the knockout stage in Gdansk, Poland. The remaining teams include USA, Italy, Japan, Poland, and Brazil. Semifinals will be played on Saturday and Finals will be played on Sunday.

Check Out the Remaining Match Times:

All VNL Matches can be Watched at Volleyball World with AVCA Exclusive Discount Code: AVCA

In partnership with Volleyball World, the AVCA is offering reduced pricing so you can watch 2023 VNL matches … both online and in person.

Association members can get 20 percent off online passes to Volleyball World TV, which is broadcasting every VNL match. Additionally, you can save 15 percent of tickets for men’s prelims in Anaheim.

Click below for exclusive pricing offers for AVCA members:

• 20% OFF all passes with the promo code “AVCA” when subscribing to volleyballword.tv
• 15% OFF any tickets to the Men’s Prelim Round in Anaheim, CA, July 4-9

U.S. Men Fight off France to Move Forward at VNL

The U.S. Men’s National Team was hoping its Volleyball Nations League quarterfinal match against France on Wednesday might be over quickly, but France had other ideas.

The defending VNL champions took the U.S. Men to five sets, but the U.S. held on for the 3-2 (25-21, 25-18 17-25, 24-26, 15-9) win in Gdansk, Poland.

The U.S. Men (11-2) will play Italy (11-2) in the semifinals on Saturday. Italy beat Argentina in the second semifinal 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-14).

Read the full match report from USAVolleyball.org and VolleyballMag.com.

Future stars give their Men’s VNL predictions

The world’s best young talents are in action at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball U21 Men’s World Championship in Manama, Bahrain.

Volleyball World asked each star of the 16 competing teams in the U21 World Championship which of the eight Volleyball Nations League finalists will take home the crown this year. Check it out.

Media from VNL Tournament

VNL moments that made us go, ‘Whoa!’: Men’s Week 3

College Volleyball Media

“Like a Coach”: My First Decade Coaching Volleyball

FrogJump writer Ramius recently published a look back on his coaching career:

“Ten years ago, “Young Ramius” used to think coaching was fun and easy. In the present, “Old Ramius” recognizes how hard being a good coach really is. But my passion for coaching volleyball is just as strong now as it was ten years ago when I had my first team. Because few things are better than watching an athlete you’ve trained improve. Few things are better than watching a team you’ve trained win a match. Few things are better than seeing the impact a good coach can have on an athlete over time.”

Read the full article here.

To keep up with men’s college volleyball news, bookmark Off the Block’s homepage, FrogJump, a site dedicated to Men’s NCAA Division III volleyball, and Volleyballmag.com’s men’s page.

College Volleyball News

NCAA Division II Membership Committee Announces Updates for Schools in Reclassification Process

D’Youville will become a Division II member Sept. 1, after successfully completing the three-year reclassification process from Division III.

The Division II Membership Committee approved advancing Edward Waters University to year three of the reclassification process. The committee also advanced Thomas More to year two of the reclassification process.

Additionally, the committee accepted Menlo College (NAIA) into the reclassification process.

The committee reviewed the membership application submitted by Talladega College (NAIA) but did not accept the institution into the membership process.

Read the full press release here.

Collegiate Program Listings and Map

The AVCA is constantly updating its NCAA, NAIA, and Two-Year College program lists as new programs get announced:

• NCAA Division I – II
• NCAA Division III
  
• NAIA
• Two-Year Colleges
  
• NCVF: Men’s College Club Team Listing

Did we miss one? Contact bradley.wilson@avca.org and let us know. Programs are also visible on the AVCA’s map:

Boys Volleyball News

2023 AVCA Recruiting Seminar Wrap Up

At AAU Nationals, the AVCA partnered with men’s college coaches and recruiting advisor, Kevin Pratte, to host a recruiting panel for athletes, parents, and coaches. Kevin offered his thoughts on the panel in a throughful post at VBallRecruiter.com.

Here is a preview:

“On Day 2 of the AAU Championships the AVCA put together a college recruiting panel to educate athletes, parents, club directors and coaches about recruiting in college volleyball. The panel was a blend of coaches that represented all areas of collegiate men’s volleyball. On the panel was USC head coach Jeff Nygaard, Ohio State assistant coach Hudson Bates, Hobart and William Smith College head coach Stephen England, The Masters head coach Jared Goldberg and Monroe College assistant coach Jonathan Vasquez.”

Read the full article here.

VolleyballMag.com: AAU Boys Volleyball Championships recaps as Balboa Bay wins two Open national titles

The 2023 AAU Boys’ Junior National Volleyball Championships finished in Orlando on July 4 with a 45-percent increase in teams and another reminder that the sport is among the fastest-growing in the country. In 2022, the AAU nationals had 665 teams. This year? A whopping 963.

Check out Kevin Pratte’s wrap up of the 2023 Boys AAU Nationals in Orlando at VolleyballMag.com.

2023 All-Star Championship Kicks Off in Ft. Lauderdale

Ninety girls and boys volleyball teams from various USA Volleyball regions are at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale this week for the All-Star Championship.

Hosted by the Florida Region, the competition begins July 20 and continues through July 23 for teams competing in six divisions for girls and two for boys. Twenty regions and one delegation from Canada are represented at the event.

The USA Volleyball All-Star Championship was formerly known as the USA Volleyball High Performance Championship.

Read more here.

First Point Volleyball Foundation recently published an extremely helpful database that shows the most important leadership members in that state’s high school sports legislature and the person(s) most involved with growing boys volleyball. The list proudly features contacts from all 50 states.

Looking for help growing boys volleyball in your state or region? Check out the database and check out your states.

AVCA High School Boys Volleyball Map

Ensure that your high school team is included on the AVCA’s online map!

AVCA Updates

87 Men’s and Boys’ Teams Earned the 2023 AVCA Team Academy Award

The United States Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced today that 1,343 collegiate and high school volleyball teams have earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award this season. This marks an all-time record number of programs honored for their academic achievements. The award, initiated in the 1992–93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale. Check the collegiate teams that earned the award:

AVCA Coach Recruiting Panel Planned for AAU Boys Nationals

This past Sunday at AAU Boys Junior Nationals, the AVCA hosted a recruiting panel for athletes, coaches, and parents. The panelists shared valuable insight for navigating the boys volleyball recruiting landscape. The panelists include:

• Jeff Nygaard – USC Head Coach
• Hudson Bates – Ohio St Assistant Coach
• Stephen England – Hobart College Head Coach
• Jared Goldberg – The Master’s University Head Coach

You can watch a recording of the panel here.

No Ezy Buckets with Dustin Watten:

Going Pro Seminar at NCAA Championship

At the 2023 NCAA National Collegiate Championship, No Ezy Buckets’ Dustin Watten hosted a seminar with athletes to discuss playing professional volleyball abroad. Dustin covered a number of topics including:

• Hiring an Agent – pros vs cons
• Countries, Leagues and, Clubs to Target
• Salary Expectations by Position
• How to be Successful
• Much More

View the recording of the seminar.

Beach Volleyball

Theo Brunner, Theo Brunner Win 3rd AVP Hermosa Title and 1st FIVB Gold in Espinho

Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner met Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander in front of a packed stadium court whose line to get in snaked all the way to the Hermosa Beach strand. Per usual, the Crabb feast delivered, as Crabb and Brunner won, 19-21, 21-13, 15-10 in an excellent final. Read more here.

A week later, the pair took the title at the Pro Beach Tour Espinho Challenge on Sunday in Portugal. It was the first international gold medal for Brunner/Crabb, who united as a team at the start of this season. Before Portugal, the pair finished fifth in challenge tournaments in La Paz, Mexico, Saquarema, Brazil, and Jurmala, Latvia, for their best results. Read about their win at USAVolleyball.org.

Andy Benesh, Miles Partain shock the beach volleyball world with Gstaad Elite16 Win

Andy Benesh and Miles Partain are coming home with perhaps the most monumental international pro beach volleyball gold medal an American men’s pair has won since Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Read more at VolleyballMag.com.

2023 USA Volleyball Men’s Beach Collegiate Challenge Signups Currently Available

The USA Volleyball Men’s Beach Collegiate Challenge is returning to Stevenson University on September 15-17.

Entry Requirements:

• Be eligible to compete for the United States
• Be a currently registered member of USAV.
• Be at least 18 and less than 25 years of age on September 17, 2023.
• Athletes on a pair can be from different colleges/university.

AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Championships

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce that Huntsville, Alabama, will be the site of the Second Annual AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Championships. The championships will feature a women’s pairs national championship and a men’s team national championship. The men’s event will bring four schools to Huntsville to compete for the first men’s collegiate beach team national championship. Read more here.

AVCA Men’s Volleyball Alliance

To join the Men’s Collegiate Beach Volleyball Alliance an active member coach of the AVCA must complete the registration information. The nominating coach serves as the official representative for all men’s collegiate beach activities at the college.

If you are interested in starting men’s collegiate beach volleyball at your college and need support please email Becca Just. We are happy to help!

USA Volleyball

Twenty-one Athletes on Men’s Collegiate National Team

The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team dominated in every phase to defeat Mexico, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-18) in the 13th-place match to conclude play at the Men’s U21 World Championship in Manama, Bahrain. The win avenged a four-set loss to Mexico in the second round of pool play on Thursday. Read the full match report here.

2023 NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship coming to West Virginia in September

2023 NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship presented by USA Volleyball is coming to Charleston, West Virginia on Sept. 5-10, 2023. Teams competing at the Continental Championship will receive points toward their world rankings, which will help determine who qualifies for the 2024 Olympic Games. Learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.

Professional Volleyball

New York Legion VC Wins 2023 VLA Title

Congratulations to manager Chris Hosley and the entire New York Legion program on their second straight VLA title. New York LVC took down Boston Bounce VBC in the final to claim the title.

NVA Results from Event 4

• Day 1 Recap
• Day 2 Recap
• Day 3 Recap

Job Changes and Openings

New Hires

The Greenville University men’s volleyball program will return to the H.J. Long Gymnasium floor in January 2025 under the direction of Emily Thebeau Butler who was named the program’s new head coach.

Rockhurst University Director of Athletics Kristy Bayer announced on July 5)that Corey Marks has been hired as the first-ever men’s volleyball head coach.

Emmanuel College Athletic Department is pleased to announce the full-time appointment of Bori May as Head Coach to the Men’s & Women’s Volleyball programs.

Job Opportunities

Juniata College – Assistant Men’s Volleyball Coach

Goshen College – Head Men’s Volleyball Coach