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.
Wall Street Journal Profiles Boys High School Volleyball Growth
Nationwide, the number of boys playing high school volleyball teams has jumped 56% in the past decade, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. More than half of U.S. states now have an official high school championship for boys volleyball—including, starting next year, Minnesota.
“I had hopes to see this day,” said Kiraly, now the coach of the 2021 Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. women’s volleyball team. “It’s fantastic.”
The latest USA Today/AVCA Boys High School Super 25 and Regional Rankings are updated weekly and determined by AVCA member coaches. Regions are determined by the AVCA.
Ryan “Rock” Perrotte Steps Down as Purdue Fort Wayne Head Coach
Ryan “Rock” Perrotte has announced his resignation from his post as the Purdue Fort Wayne men’s volleyball head coach.
Perrotte came to the Summit City as a student-athlete for the Mastodons in 1996. He graduated in 1999, then returned as an assistant coach for the Mastodons under head coach Arnie Ball (2002-04, 2006-15). He was named the second head coach for the Mastodon men’s volleyball program in 2016. Read more here.
Volleyball MasterCoaches – Wednesday Weekly Buzz
Master Coaches recently interviewed Kay Rogness regarding club volleyball, Jesse Sultzer to discuss volleyball number and statistics, and League One’s Director of Operations, Tom Hogan. Watch the interviews here.
For more information and links to stream, visit PIAA.org.
La Salle Wins Rhode Island State Title in 5 Setter
La Salle saw its championship slipping away. The Rams surrendered five straight match points to North Kingstown to turn its fifth-set lead into a deficit in the Division I boys volleyball finals. But La Salle wasn’t going to be put away without its own fight for the crown on Saturday at Rhode Island College. Read the full report from the Providence Journal.
PIAA Championships This Weekend
The 2024 MIAA Championships are set to be played this weekend. Here are the matchups:
MIAA Div I State Championship: Newton North vs Needham on Saturday @ 7:30pm
MIAA Div II State Championship: Wayland vs Westfield on Saturday @ 5pm
Over the past few years, high school men’s volleyball has steadily gained momentum and awareness in Tennessee. Leading the charge are several Tri-Cities’ programs, including David Crockett.
First-year Crockett men’s volleyball head coach Tucker Knouse is a part of that movement and is excited to see the sport continue to grow.
Knouse’s journey into men’s volleyball began three years ago as he received a teaching job at Crockett. Growing up in North Carolina, men’s volleyball was not something he had necessarily thought he would be a part of. Read the full post at johnsoncitypress.com.
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.
USA Volleyball announced the athletes and staff who will comprise the U.S. Beach Volleyball Team for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. For the men, the teams of Andy Benesh/Miles Partain and Chase Budinger/Miles Evans have qualified. Benesh/Partain tied for fourth in the men’s rankings and Budinger/Evans tied for 13th. Read more here.
US 2024 Beach Collegiate National Teams Announced
Sixteen women and 15 men have been selected for the 2024 USA Volleyball Beach Collegiate National Team, part of the National Team Development Program (NTDP).The athletes will train June 11-19 at Hermosa Beach, Calif., alongside USA Volleyball’s A2 Beach National Team. Athletes will play in the Beach Senior National Team NORCECA Trials on June 18-19, where the winners will automatically earn a bid to represent the USA at upcoming NORCECA competitions. See the full list of athletes named to the team.
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
US Mens Fall to Canada in VNL Matchup
The U.S. Men’s National Team fell to Canada 3-1 (25-16, 19-25, 26-24, 28-26) in the week two finale of Volleyball Nations League in Ottawa, Canada. The U.S. Men finish week two with a 3-5 record. The squad will look to improve its record and continue to prepare for the Olympic Games when the VNL moves to Manila, Philippines on June 19. Read more here.
US Starts NORCECA U21 Champs in Dominating Fashion
The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team’s offense was firing on all cylinders in defeating Nicaragua at the NORCECA Continental Championship, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-12) on Tuesday in Nogales, Mexico. In its opening match of the championship, the U.S. hit an astounding .638 for the match, eclipsing the .600 mark in all three sets, and never trailed. Read more here.
AVCA Updates
AVCA Boys Best and Brightest Awards Announced
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce the third annual AVCA Best and Brightest Awards for Boys High School Senior student-athletes. The AVCA Best & Brightest Award is an award meant to honor individual high school Senior student-athletes who excel on and off the court. To be eligible for the Best and Brightest Award, Senior student-athletes must have earned at least a 3.5 Unweighted/4.0 Weighted GPA. See the full list of winners here.
AVCA Team Academic Nominations Now Accepted
Nominations for the 2024 AVCA Team Academic Award open now being accepted! High school and collegiate teams will qualify if they were able to average a 3.30 GPA on 4.0 scale or better for the entire 2023-2024 academic year. Girls/Women, Boys/Men, and Beach teams are all eligible! The link to nominate is featured here.
Professional Volleyball
River City Flow Wins 2024 VLA Cup
The River City Flow won the 2024 VLA Cup in Madison, Wisconsin on May 19. They took down the Chicago Icemen 3-2 in the final. See the full results here.
2024 VLA Championships: Bouston Bounce and DC Dynasty Win
Congratulations to the Boston Bounce on winning their first ever VLA Championship and to DC Dynasty on winning Tier 2 VLA Championship! The championships were hosted last weekend in Hamilton, Ohio. Learn more about the championship here.
Hirings and Openings
Hirings
Hiram Athletics announced the hiring of Tyler North as its new head men’s volleyball coach earlier this week.
The St. Andrews Knights have hired Henry Gorton as the new men’s volleyball head coach, effective June 17, 2024.
Bryan Buckius has been hired as Assistant Men’s Volleyball Coach, Catawba College head men’s volleyball coach Bill Ferguson announced Tuesday morning.
