Affolder Takes Over As Head Coach After Five Seasons As The Top Assistant
DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton has announced the hiring of Matt Affolder as the new head coach of the Flyers' nationally-ranked women's volleyball team.
"We are pleased to announce Matt Affolder as the head women's volleyball coach at the University of Dayton," said Athletic Director Tim Wabler. "Flyer volleyball is one of the premier programs in the nation and annually earns an NCAA tournament berth. Expectations are very high for this program. Matt is the best candidate for sustaining the high level of excellence Dayton volleyball has established. He has played an instrumental role in the continued success of this program over the last five years."
Coach Affolder addressed the opportunity as well.
"I would first like to thank Tim Wabler, Mike Kelly, Neil Sullivan, and the entire athletic department at the University of Dayton for this incredible opportunity," said Affolder. "I also want to thank Kelly Sheffield for bringing me to Dayton five years ago - I cannot put into words what he has meant to me as a friend, mentor, and leader during the past five years. I have been truly blessed to able to work alongside, but more importantly, learn from one of the best volleyball coaches in the country. I have seen firsthand what volleyball means to UD and the Dayton community, and I can't wait to get in the gym with our players and begin working toward our goals of taking this program to the next level."
Affolder has served as the recruiting coordinator for the past five seasons at Dayton as the top assistant to former head coach Kelly Sheffield. In addition to overseeing recruiting operations, Affolder’s responsibilities included opposition scouting, video editing and breakdown, statistical analysis, and coordinating Dayton volleyball’s lineup of instructional camps.
Since arriving on campus in 2008, Affolder has helped guide the Flyers to five NCAA Tournaments and consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. In his time at Dayton, Affolder has helped the Flyers complete undefeated regular seasons in the Atlantic 10 in both 2010 and 2012. He has also coached six AVCA All-Americans at UD and has led the Flyers to steady placement in the Top 25 poll.
The Decatur, Ind., native has strong ties to the heartland of volleyball – the midwest. Prior to arriving in Dayton, Affolder held assistant coaching positions at Indiana University, Southern Illinois and Indiana State. He has 19 years of coaching experience and 13 years at the Division I level.
Affolder will take over an experienced team in 2013 as the Flyers look to defend their A-10 titles. UD returns 12 letterwinnners from last season's 27-5 team that went 14-0 in the A-10 and finished ranked 19th nationally.
