The 2017 Thirty Under 30 Awards have been announced by the AVCA – with nearly 200 young coaches nominated for the award, breaking any previous records. The award was created in 2009 to honor the up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport.
To qualify for the award, the nominee had to be 30 years or younger in 2016.
Of the recipients of this prestigious award 12 are NCAA Division I coaches, five are high school/club, four are NCAA Division III, three are NCAA Division II and Two-Year College and there’s one each in the NAIA, NCCAA and USCAA.
Two of the recipients of the award are multi-time winners – Evin Giglio, head coach of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, men and women (2014, 2017) and David Hunt, associate head coach for the Pepperdine University men’s team (2010, 2016, 2017).
Ohio State’s men’s and women’s programs each had an assistant coach receive the award – Kevin Burch and Nikki Klingsporn.
Kevin Burch an assistant coach for the men’s squad has a list of national titles under his belt:
- Ohio State men (2011, player and 2016, coach)
- Penn State women (2014)
- Springfield College men (2012, 2014)
- UC Irvine men (2013)
Nikki Klingporn an assistant women’s coach and recruiting coordinator brought in the #13 and #16 recruiting classes in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Helping the #1 Long Beach State men’s volleyball this 2017 season is recipient Nick Macrae who has been helping the squad for the past five years.
The youngest to be awarded are Kim Maroon, assistant women’s coach at Florida Gulf Coast and Kirsten Gallagher, assistant beach coach at Georgia State.
Thirty Under 30 Award Winners
Stephanie Albano, Head Coach
Daemen College, NCAA Division II
Bio
Ariel Apolinario, Assistant Coach
Rice University, NCAA Division I
Bio
Thais Baziquetto-Allen, Head Coach
Seward County Community College, Two-Year College
Bio
Allison Boes, Head Coach
Duluth High School, High School/Club
Bio
Kevin Burch, Assistant Coach
Ohio State University (Men’s), NCAA Division I
Bio
Sean Carter, Assistant Coach
Wichita State University, NCAA Division I
Bio
Kelly Cecil, Head Coach
North Forsyth High School/A5 Mizuno, High School/Club
Bio
Lorayne Chandler, Head Coach
Arizona Western College, Two-Year College
Bio
Max Curran, Head Coach
Kairos Elite Volleyball Club, High School/Club
Bio
Tim Doyle, Assistant Coach
Virginia Commonwealth University, NCAA Division I
Bio
Kirsten Gallagher, Assistant Coach
Georgia State University (Beach), NCAA Division I
Bio
Evin Giglio, Head Coach **Two-time winner (2014, 2017) **
Wentworth Institute of Technology (Men’s + Women’s), NCAA Division III
Bio
Maggie Griffin, Head Coach
Volleyball Club Nebraska, High School/Club
Bio
Ashley Harris, Head Coach
Tennessee Wesleyan University, NAIA
Bio
Carlos Huaroto-Luque, Head Coach
Florida National University, USCAA
Bio
David Hunt, Associate Head Coach **Three-time winner (2010, 2016, 2017) **
Pepperdine University (Men’s), NCAA Division I
Bio
Christa Jung Cooper, Assistant Coach
Ferris State University, NCAA Division II
Bio
Nikki Klingsporn, Assistant Coach
Ohio State University, NCAA Division I
Bio
Dan Liberto, Head Coach
SUNY IT (Men’s), NCAA Division III
Bio
Nick Macrae, Assistant Coach
Long Beach State University (Men’s), NCAA Division I
Bio
Melissa Mahnke, Head Coach
University of Mount Union, NCAA Division III
Bio
Kim Maroon, Assistant Coach
Florida Gulf Coast University, NCAA Division I
Bio
Matthew Marrujo, Head Coach
Servite High School/Balboa Bay Volleyball Club (Boy’s), High School/Club
Bio
Evan Muys, Assistant Coach
University of Dayton, NCAA Division I
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Cory Sackett, Assistant Coach
Purdue Northwest University, NCAA Division II
Bio
Andrea Salazar, Assistant Coach
Delaware Valley University/CJVA, NCAA Division III
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Scott Schweihofer, Assistant Coach
University of Pennsylvania, NCAA Division I
Bio
David Ulrich, Head Coach
Randall University/Oklahoma Charge, NCCAA
Bio
Greg Walker, Head Coach
Sacred Heart University (Men’s + Women’s), NCAA Division I
Bio
Alicia Williams, Head Coach
Iowa Western Community College, Two-Year College
Bio
Photos and bios courtesy of the AVCA.
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