Kessenich Named to AVCA's Thirty Under 30 List
10/16/2024 12:00:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton Volleyball assistant coach Adam Kessenich has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's 2024 Thirty Under 30 list.
The Thirty Under 30 honors program recognizes up-and-coming coaches in these different sectors of the sport who serve in a range of roles, from head coach to volunteer assistant to club director. Each of this year's recipients had to be age 30 or under as of Dec. 31, 2023, to qualify for the award.
College Awards
This year's list of Thirty Under 30 College Award recipients includes women's and men's coaches who are rising leaders in the sport. These honorees work hard and are passionate about teaching, helping players reach their full potential, and growing the game at the collegiate level.
Club Awards
The Club awards are the latest addition to the AVCA's Thirty Under 30 honors program, as they made their debut last year. The 2024 recipients include rising club volleyball leaders that are passionate about ensuring that the club space continues to fuel growth in youth volleyball and help increase participation numbers.
Beach Awards
The AVCA Thirty Under 30 Beach Awards, now in their fourth year, shines the spotlight on the great work that the next generation of beach coaches are doing to help the ever-increasing number of high school beach players—both girls and boys. Eight Thirty Under 30 Beach honorees are repeat winners, recognizing their continued commitment to the sport.
Kessenich is in his second season as an assistant coach at Creighton, during which time the Bluejays have gone 44-7 overall and been ranked every week since his arrival. Last year's Bluejay team featured the BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year, won BIG EAST Tournament, shared the BIG EAST regular-season title, and advanced to the program's first Sweet 16 since 2016.
He began his coaching career coaching club volleyball with the Milwaukee Sting from 2016-18 before serving as a volunteer assistant at Minnesota for two seasons. Coaching under Hugh McCutcheon, the Golden Gophers won the Big Ten in 2018 and reached the Final Four in 2019. Kessenich spent 2020-23 as an assistant coach at Northeastern University before coming to Creighton last summer.
Ranked third in the RPI and sixth in Monday's AVCA poll, Creighton (15-2, 6-0 BIG EAST) returns home this weekend for a pair of matches, starting with Friday's 6 p.m. match against Xavier that will be televised by Nebraska Public Media.
