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Stanford’s John Kosty was named the AVCA Division I-II National Men’s Volleyball Coach of the Year on Wednesday.
In his fourth season as head coach, Kosty guided Stanford to a 24-6 record and the program’s first national championship since 1997. The Cardinal swept Penn State in the NCAA final at Maples Pavilion.
“This honor is a great reflection on our staff and how hard we all have worked throughout this entire season to accomplish what have,” Kosty said. “It’s great recognition for our staff and our program.”
In a rugged Mountain Pacific Sports Federation season, which featured 11 conference teams ranked among the nation’s final top 15 and five teams having a shot at the regular-season title going into the season’s final day, Stanford needed a bit of help to pull clear of the field.
The Cardinal did, igniting an impressive postseason run during which it pulled off some rare feats.
Stanford became the first team since 2005 to pull off the triple of winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season and tournament titles, and the NCAA tournament.
Stanford became the first team since 1993 and the third ever to close out an NCAA championship season by winning 14 consecutive sets.
Stanford won a postseason match for the first time since 1997 and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since that season.
Stanford improved by 21 victories in three years.
Stanford went 3-25 and finished last in the MPSF during Kosty’s first season as head coach, prompting a rallying cry of “worst to first” that the class of 2010 drew from during those subsequent seasons. The Cardinal rebounded to a 17-11 record in 2008 and 21-11 in 2009 before emerging as the best team in the country.
Kosty is the second Stanford coach to receive National Coach of the Year honors, following Ruben Nieves, who coached the Cardinal to the 1997 NCAA title and earned the award in 1992 and 1997.
Tennis
Stanford’s Bradley Klahn, Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette each won their opening-round matches at the NCAA singles tournament Wednesday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
The 9-16 seed Klahn downed SMU’s Artern Baradach, 6-3, 6-3 and will face Tennessee’s Boris Conkle at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Barte defeated Marshall’s Michaela Kissell, 6-3, 6-1, and plays Denver’s Ute Schnoy at 9 a.m. Burdette dropped Alabama’s Alexa Guarachi, 6-1, 6-3, and meets Tennessee’s Caitlin Whoriskey at 9 a.m.
Klahn and Ryan Thacher open men’s doubles competition and Barte and Lindsay Burdette open women’s doubles competition Thursday.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
A well-deserved honor! Kosty and his coaching staff brought this team “from worst to first” — and you could see the improvement each year. Bravo to the team and the coaches — and let’s see more fans in the stands next year!