Feb. 26, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is pleased to announce its inaugural Thirty Under 30 Awards. This award was created to honor thirty of the up-and-coming volleyball coaches under 30 years old in the sport at all levels of the game. Although anyone could make a nomination, the nominee had to be an AVCA member, and had to be younger than 30 years old in 2009. The list of winners was announced in the February/March edition of Coaching Volleyball.

"Reading the biographies, accomplishments and philosophies of this group of award winners gives me confidence about the future of our game," said Kathy DeBoer, AVCA Executive Director. "Our rising stars are diverse, hard-working and passionate about teaching - good news for volleyball."

Of the thirty recipients, head coach and assistant coach numbers were split 15-15. Ten are NCAA Division I women's coaches, five are NCAA Division II women's coaches, five are High School girls' coaches, four are women's coaches in NCAA Division III, three are from Two-Year Colleges, two coach Division I-II men, and there was one NAIA women's coach. Two of the recipients double-up as club coaches.

Inaugural Thirty Under 30 Award Recipients

Stephanie Moreno, Assistant CoachUniversity of San Diego, San Diego, CA (NCAA Division I) 
Lindi Bankowski, Assistant CoachAustin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN (NCAA Division I)
Brittany Baume, Assistant CoachWittenberg University, Springfield, OH (NCAA Division III)
Ben Boldt, Assistant CoachUniversity of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (NCAA Division I)
Ryan Campbell, Assistant CoachCornerstone University, Grand Rapids, MI (NAIA)
Caitlin Faulk, Head CoachBroward College, Fort Lauderdale, FL (NJCAA Division I)
Becky Fletcher, Head CoachSUNYIT (Men & Women), Utica, NY (NCAA Division III)
Kyle Gamble, Assistant CoachIowa Western Community College, Council Bluffs, IA (NJCAA Division I)
Todd Garvey, Head CoachMercy Academy, Louisville, KY (High School)
Chris Gaskill, Assistant CoachUniversity of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (NCAA Division I)
Kelly Greapentrog, Head CoachSt. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY (NCAA Division III)
Emily Hawthorne, Head CoachZionsville High School, Zionsville, IN (High School)
Kristina Hernandez, Head CoachHofstra University, Hempstead, NY (NCAA Division I)
Michael Johnson, Associate Head CoachCal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA (NCAA Division I)
Gretchen Killebrew, Assistant CoachSeattle University, Seattle, WA (NCAA Division I)
Matt Martin, Assistant CoachLoyola University Chicago (Men), Chicago, IL (NCAA Division I-II)
Giovana Melo, Head CoachWestern Nebraska Community College, Scottsbluff, NE (NJCAA Division I)
Kelly Morrisroe, Assistant CoachEckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL (NCAA Division II)
George Mulry, Head CoachLongmeadow High School, Longmeadow, MA (High School)
Vince Muscat, Head CoachAllen Park Inter-City Baptist, Alan Park, MI (High School)
Coley Pawlikowski, Head CoachNorth Park University, Chicago, IL (NCAA Division III)
Jessy Roy, Assistant CoachLynn University, Boca Raton, FL (NCAA Division II)
Lauren Sauer, Assistant CoachUniversity of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (NCAA Division I)
Jamie Skadeland, Head CoachColorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (NCAA Division II)
Eric Snyder, Head CoachStonehill College, Easton, MA (NCAA Division II)
Holly Strauss-O'Brien, Head CoachUniversity of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (NCAA Division I)
John Titus, Head CoachParsippany H.S./Atlantic Valley VB Club, Parsippany/Westfield, NJ (High School/Club)
Christy Utnage, Assistant CoachXavier University, Cincinnati, OH (NCAA Division I)
J.T. Wenger, Assistant CoachUCLA (Men) / Palisades Volleyball Club, Los Angeles, CA (NCAA Division I-II/Club)
Lettie Wilkes, Head Coach          Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, NC (NCAA Division II)