Ottawa University-Phoenix issued the following announcement on May 4
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that OUAZ beach volleyball head coach Haleigh Carvalho has received one of the 2020 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 younger than 30 years old in 2019.
In response to receiving the award, Carvalho told the AVCA, "It means so much, not just for me, but for our program and my family. My husband and I run our program together and we often ask ourselves if we are on the right path, are we doing the right things, and this is a validation that what we are doing is helping change lives and volleyball."
Carvalho guided OUAZ to the AVCA Small College National Championship in the 2019 season – the program's first season of competition – and had the Spirit off to a 12-1 start in 2020 before the remainder of the season was canceled. Her overall record at OUAZ of 35-5 includes four wins over NCAA DI opponents. All five losses are against NCAA DI teams.
The Spirit went 5-0 in GSAC play this spring and Carvalho was named the conference's inaugural Coach of the Year.
Carvalho began her collegiate coaching career coaching indoor volleyball at Irvine Valley College in 2015 before two seasons at Lee University. After helping the Flames go 35-25, Carvalho came to OUAZ to start the beach program in 2018.
Originally from Huntington Beach, California, Carvalho played collegiately for three seasons at Long Beach State University where she was a two-time First-Team All-Big West and Honorable Mention All-American. Carvalho finished her playing career with one season at Clemson University.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Ottawa University-Phoenix
Alerts Sign-up