Lexington, Ky. -- University of Lynchburg director of volleyball Hannah Givens earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Thirty Under 30 award announced Tuesday.
From the AVCA:
"The American Volleyball Coaches Association is pleased to recognize this year's group of Thirty Under 30 Beach coaches. These rising stars are hard-working and passionate about teaching, and they are dedicated to helping grow the sport of beach volleyball.
Thirty Under 30 Beach honors up-and-coming coaches at all levels of beach volleyball and the recipients serve in a range of roles, from head coach to volunteer assistant to club director. Nominees had to be under 30 as of Dec. 31, 2022, to qualify for the award. This new group of Thirty Under 30 Beach coaches joins two previous classes of beach honorees.
The AVCA's Thirty Under 30 program, created in 2009, was expanded in 2023 to include a category for club coaches. Additionally, the Thirty Over 30 awards will launch this October to recognize coaches with 30 years of AVCA membership and those who have been coaching volleyball for 30 years. The 2023 AVCA High School Thirty Under 30 winners will also be announced this fall."
Givens joined Lynchburg as a graduate assistant coach in 2019 and took over as interim head coach of the indoor team in April 2020. She coached the Hornets to a 9-7 record with a program-record 8-3 conference mark in her first season as interim coach during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 Wingate graduate earned a promotion to full-time head coach of the Hornets in March 2021. Givens has led Lynchburg to winning seasons in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and to spots in the ODAC tournament all three seasons at the helm of the indoor team.
Givens took over the new beach volleyball team at Lynchburg in October 2021 and received a promotion to director of volleyball, overseeing both indoor and beach squads.
RELATED: Beach volleyball concludes inaugural season
With a team composed entirely of first and second-year players, the Hornets navigated the first beach season in Lynchburg history with a 13-22 record. Givens and the Hornets won the program's first match on Feb. 18 against Richard Bland. SJ Yanz and Mady Shirey won at the first court, Kailey Keough and Jordan Palmer won at No. 2, and Amanda Trapp and Mackenzie Ingrassia won at No. 3 in the momentous victory. The Hornets also competed at the AVCA small colleges national championship in Tavares, Fla.
Givens' beach volleyball team is the first NCAA beach squad in the commonwealth of Virginia.
Check out Givens' interview with the AVCA about her 30 Under 30 award here:
2023 AVCA Thirty Under 30 Beach
See all 30 of the AVCA Thirty Under 30 winners here.
Givens and the indoor team begin their season on Friday, Sept. 1. View the entire 2023 indoor schedule here.
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--LYN--
