LEXINGTON, Ky. — The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is pleased to announce its 2016 Thirty Under 30 Awards. This award was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport. To qualify for the award, nominees had to be 30 years old or younger in 2015.
Stanislaus State women's volleyball head coach Mallori Gibson-Rossi was named among recipients. She is the only NCAA Division II head coach to receive the award.
"When coaching development is what you do, few days are more gratifying than the one on which you announce the Thirty Under 30 awards," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "The number and quality of nominees keeps going up and the diversity of places where we are seeing youthful excellence continues to expand. Our future is bright."
Gibson-Rossi, in her first year as head coach of the program, led the Warriors to their first CCAA conference championship tournament appearance. The Warriors posted a 16-11 record after starting the season a program best 7-0 en route to the team's best overall record since 2002. Under the guidance of Gibson-Rossi and her assistant Chelsea Overholt, the Warriors had a complete turnaround after a 2-24 record in 2014.
Of the thirty recipients, 12 are NCAA Division I coaches, six in high school/club, four in NCAA Division III, three are NCAA Division II and NAIA, and two are two-year college coaches.
To view the head shots and bio of each winner, please visit our website by clicking here.
Thirty Under 30 Award Recipients
Austin Albers, Head Coach, Laramie County Community College, Two-Year College
Evan Amstutz, Head Coach, Wittenberg University (men's), NCAA Division III
Felicia Arriola, Assistant Coach, Loyola Marymount University, NCAA Division I
Jacob Barreau, Assistant Coach, Missouri State University, NCAA Division I
Mayssa Bazzi, Head Coach, Father Gabriel Richard High School, High School/Club
Kasey Crider, Assistant Coach, University of Miami, NCAA Division I
Marrita Crockett-Moulton, Assistant Coach, Florida International University (beach), NCAA Division I
Jason Demas, Head Coach, Queensborough Community College, Two-Year College
Kaitlin DiLuzio, Head Coach, Lawton Chiles High School, High School/Club
Travis Fuller, Director of Player and Coach Development, The Academy Volleyball Club, High School/Club
Mallori Gibson-Rossi, Head Coach, California State University, Stanislaus, NCAA Division II
Susan Halverson, Assistant Coach, Ohio State University, NCAA Division I
Abbi Hayes, Assistant Coach, Wingate University, NCAA Division II
Aleah Hayes, Assistant Coach, Columbia College, NAIA
David Hunt, Assistant Coach, Pepperdine University (men's), NCAA Division I
Caitlyn Jansen, Assistant Coach (Named head coach in February 2016), Berry College, NCAA Division III
Tristan Johnson, Assistant Coach, Arkansas State University, NCAA Division I
Rachael Kidder, Head Coach, Actyve Volleyball, High School/Club
Katie Kuhn, Assistant Coach, Ohio Northern University, NCAA Division III
Mitch Lunning, Head Coach, Kairos Elite Volleyball Club, High School/Club
Kelli Miller, Assistant Coach, Ball State University, NCAA Division I
Omar Munoz, Head Coach, Frisch High School/Passaic County Community College (women's and men's), High School/Club
Kaitlin Nielsen, Assistant Coach, UCLA, NCAA Division I
Amy Pauly, Assistant Coach, Villanova University, NCAA Division I
Morgan Salow, Assistant Coach, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NCAA Division I
David Skaff, Assistant Coach, Colorado Mesa University, NCAA Division II
Nicole Venditte, Assistant Coach, Midland University, NAIA
Kayla Walton, Assistant Coach, Hendrix College, NCAA Division III (As of March 2016, was named an assistant coach at D-I Samford)
Alex Wilharm, Assistant Coach, University of Louisville, NCAA Division I
Abbie Wright, Assistant Coach, Biola University, NAIA
