July 3, 2008

Matt Affolder was welcomed to the Dayton volleyball family as an assistant coach on April 24, 2008. The official online home of Flyer athletics, www.DaytonFlyers.com decided to let you get to know him better with a in depth Q & A.

Affolder made his way to UD after coaching stops at Indiana, Southern Illinois and Indiana State before coming to Dayton. He spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Indiana University from 2004-2006. While serving as recruiting coordinator and coach of the outside hitters with the Hoosiers several IU individual program records were broken including career kills, freshman single-season kill record and single-season hitting percentage.

Affolder also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois where he handled all aspects of recruiting while assisting with individual and team defense. The Salukis advanced to their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Final in his initial season on campus in 2002. The team also fashioned a 23-10 overall record that stood as the team's best record in 17 years and was one win shy of the combined total of the previous three seasons (24-62). He also mentored the SIU single-season and career record holder in kills, attack attempts and digs while coaching one CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and three MVC All-Conference selections.

A native of Decatur, Ind., Affolder spent three seasons as a volunteer coach at Indiana State working primarily with middle blockers and right side hitters. He trained five MVC All-Conference selections and three MVC All-Newcomer picks at ISU. The Sycamores also earned three consecutive berths to the MVC Tournament during his time in Terre Haute.

Prior to Indiana State, Affolder spent three years as the head coach at Wapahani High School in Selma, Ind., from 1996-98. He posted a 73-36 record, including three sectional titles, two regional appearances, a Class A Elite Eight appearance in 1997 and a Final Four appearance in 1998. In 1998, he was tabbed as Class A North Coach of the Year

Tell us a little bit about your background. How did you first become interested in volleyball? How did you get started in coaching? What have been some of your favorite stops along the way? I attended Bellmont HS in Decatur, IN, and they are a perennial power in volleyball (won the IHSAA 3A state championship last season!). I would go to the matches mainly to support the school and my friends. I then attended Ball State University and started playing pick-up games at Irving Gym. From there I just latched onto the sport and got a job as an intramural referee. I was being taught the game by intramural and recreational players and was learning more about the game as I learned the rules. I then took PE Volleyball class, which was taught by AVCA Hall of Famer Don Shondell. Contrary to my boss, I was very interested in the class and I believe I got an 'A' which was BY FAR the highest grade I received in college! I asked Coach Shondell if he could get me into coaching, and he introduced me to his son Dave Shondell (current head coach at Purdue). I went to a Munciana Volleyball Club practice and I was sold. For the next six years I coached with Munciana in the spring/summer and in the fall I coached at Muncie Central HS (Freshman/Asst. Varsity) and then Wapahani HS (Head Coach). Each program had tremendous support and success, which can be attributed to all of the wonderful players and parents that make up the Muncie/Delaware County volleyball community. In the summer of 1999 I got the bug to coach college volleyball. Jim Bertoli (former head coach at Indiana State) gave me an unbelievable opportunity to volunteer at ISU while completing my degree. From there I made collegiate coaching stops at Southern Illinois University and Indiana University. I am grateful for each opportunity given to me in my coaching career as I have met some wonderful people, specifically players, parents, and other coaches.

When did you first meet Coach Sheffield? What made you want to coach with him? I first met Kelly Sheffield sometime in 1993 during my initial year with Munciana. It was he, along with Dave Pilkington and Adam Leach, who were my primary mentors during that first club season. Once we entered the collegiate game I always thought it would be fun to work with Kelly. We have remained close friends over the past 15 years and I think when you can establish a certain relationship with your co-workers it makes the program run smoothly. I also am eager to learn more about coaching from Kelly.

What has been your biggest success story in your volleyball coaching career? It would be hard to top 1998 - the year my Munciana (Bulldawgs) 16-2 team won the USA Volleyball 16 Club National Championship. Second on that list would be 2002 - while at SIU we won more matches than the previous two years combined and went to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship match only to lose to #9 Northern Iowa, and my boss, Sonya Hopkins (formerly Locke, and former head coach at SIU) was selected MVC Coach of the Year and BCA Female Coach of the Year. It was a great year for SIU and Sonya.

Why Dayton? What made you interested in coming to UD? The opportunity to coach with one of my best friends, at a wonderful university in a great volleyball town, that has had unprecedented volleyball success was too hard to pass up. As a bonus, my family is now the closest it has been since we were married and our son (Josh) is close to his grandparents!

What is your role with the team? What are your main responsibilities on the court? Off the court? Off the court I am managing our summer volleyball camps, preparing our travel, scouting and equipment for the 2008 season, and assisting in recruiting. On court I will assist Kelly in every aspect of our skill training.

Do you have any expectations for Dayton volleyball in 2008? My main goal is for our team to stay healthy and then get after every single opponent. I think we have a tremendous roster full of focused, driven student-athletes who are hungry for more success.

What are some of your interests away from volleyball? I love coming home to hear my son say 'Hi Daddy'! I am a huge fan of the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Yankees, and a hopeful fan of the Indiana Pacers. My family has a goal to see a game in every Major League Baseball ballpark. I also love to golf anywhere, anytime!