Biography:

Experience: Fifth Season at Dayton / 12th Season Overall
Record (Dayton/Overall): 131-33 / 273-112
Alma Mater: Ball State University

Since taking over as Head Coach of University of Dayton Volleyball in 2008, Kelly Sheffield has solidified the Flyers as one of the nation’s elite programs.

As the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year, Sheffield led the Flyer volleyball program to its first undefeated record in the Atlantic 10 Conference, en route to earning back-to-back conference regular season and tournament titles. Dayton was given its highest seeding in the NCAA Championship at No. 14, while hosting the First and Second Rounds for the third time in four seasons and hosting a Regional for the first time at UD Arena. In all five seasons at Dayton, Sheffield has led the Flyers to the NCAA Tournament, earning the program’s first at-large bid in 2008 and finishing in the Second Round three of the last four seasons.

In 2012, the Flyers picked up both the regular season and tournament titles in the Atlantic 10, while going a perfect 14-0 in the conference during the year. At 27-5 overall, Dayton reached as high as No. 10 in the AVCA Rankings and spent all season in the Top 25 Poll. Coach Sheffield was named A-10 Coach of the Year for the third straight season and coached both the A-10 Player of the Year (Rachel Krabacher) and Setter of the Year (Samantha Selsky). Dayton had seven players honored with all-conference awards and advanced to its 11th straight NCAA Tournament. The Flyers made it to the second round before falling to Final Four participant and 5th-ranked Oregon on its home court. The season was a historic one for the program as the Flyers tied for the most championships in Atlantic 10 history with eight. The Class of 2012 went down as one of the most successful in program history thanks to the tutelage of Coach Sheffield and his staff.

On the heels of a 23-match winning streak, Sheffield’s 2010 squad reached the highest ranking in program history at No. 12 (AVCA), while becoming the first team UD Athletics history to be nationally ranked for the entire season. The Flyers finished the season ranked No. 15 and have been nationally ranked for 19 consecutive weeks under Sheffield.

With an unblemished 17-0 Atlantic 10 record in 2010, including the conference tournament, the Flyers became conference leaders in six of the seven team statistical categories. Most notably under the leadership of one of best volleyball minds in the sport, UD recorded a single-season program-best .260 hitting percentage and ranked in the Division I top 10 in blocks per set with 2.95.

Sheffield coached two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and three-time AVCA All-America middle blocker Lindsay Fletemier, while guiding a newcomer setter, Jessica Yanz, to earn A-10 Setter of the Year and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors. In addition to Fletemier and Yanz, the Flyers boasted two more First Team All-Conference honorees in 2010 – middle blocker Becky Novacek and outside hitter Amanda Cowdrey. Sheffield added to the conference accolades as the Atlantic 10 Co-Coach of the Year.

Midway through his 10th season as a head coach Sheffield reached 200 career wins on Sept. 17, 2010 against Santa Clara, which helped the Flyers win the Notre Dame Invitational title. As the seventh head coach in UD volleyball history, Sheffield is one of two Dayton coaches to earn AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year honors.

His second campaign at UD built on a remarkable first season for the Flyers. Sheffield guided the program back to the NCAA Volleyball Championships, advancing to the second round of the tournament. Dayton finished the season with a 30-4 record and was ranked 25th in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

In addition, the team captured the program’s fifth Atlantic 10 Championship when the University of Dayton hosted the 2009 A-10 Tournament. Dayton rallied back from an 0-2 deficit to beat then-No. 20 Saint Louis in the first-ever nationally-televised broadcast from the Frericks Center.

Sheffield has the Flyer volleyball program soaring to new heights. The team earned the AVCA’s Team Academic Award for the second consecutive season. He helped breathe new life into the historic Frericks Center. Following the 2008 season a $300,000 investment was made to give Frericks a major facelift. Among the biggest changes, a state-of-the-art Robbins Bio-Channel hardwood floor was installed and the rafters were cleared making for a brighter and more enjoyable environment for the fans.

His ability to coach student-athletes to their peak performance has not gone unnoticed. Sheffield’s mentorship was key in guiding middle blocker Lindsay Fletemier to All-America recognition and the USA Volleyball A2 team for the second straight year. Fletemier was also named the A-10’s Co-Player of the Year and was joined on the All-Conference team by middle blocker Becky Novacek. Amanda Cowdrey was named Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Championship. Sheffield has helped seven student-athletes achieve All-American status.

In his first season with the Red and Blue, Sheffield guided his program to a 21-13 record that included its sixth trip to the Atlantic 10 Championship match, and Dayton’s fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament. The 2008 season marked UD’s first at-large bid into the NCAA Volleyball Championship in school history.

Wins over a nationally-ranked Illinois squad and momentous five-set wins at the Frericks Center over Louisville and Northwestern set the stage for a run to the Atlantic 10 Championship match in St. Louis. The Flyers capitalized on their out-of-conference wins, and a late 9-3 run heading into to the A-10 Tournament to solidify their spot in the Big Dance.

For the second time in as many years, the Frericks Center played host to the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Championships. 1,674 of the Flyer Faithful passed through the turnstile to cheer on UD as they hosted Western Michigan.

In addition, Sheffield helped guide Fletemier to an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Award in 2008 as well as a selection to the U.S. A2 Development Team.

He was appointed to the AVCA’s Board of Directors in 2009. Sheffield is currently serving a three-year term on the board overseeing the selection of all AVCA awards and Division I All-American meetings. He also communicates relative rules and regulation for the association’s awards and reviews proposals for new awards programs.

Sheffield, a native of Muncie, Ind., came to UD after seven seasons as the head coach at Albany. A two-time America East Conference Coach of the Year, Sheffield led the Great Danes to three trips to the NCAA Tournament including a second-round appearance in 2007. Albany won back-to-back conference tournament championships under Sheffield and three titles in his last four years. Albany volleyball won 20 matches or more in four out of five seasons.

Sheffield was a great developer of talent at Albany as he mentored the first player in NCAA history to win a conference Player of the Year and Setter of the Year award in three consecutive seasons. That talent helped his 2006 squad to become the first team in school history in any sport to host an NCAA Tournament contest when Minnesota, Saint John's and Siena visited Albany for the first and second rounds.

His Great Danes were one of just two teams at the Division I level to continuously improve their RPI rating from 2000 to 2005, moving to number 40 in 2005 after occupying the 295-spot in 2000. Albany's 2005 ranking represents the best in America East Conference volleyball history. The team also posted the best-ever winning percentage (.875) in the league.

He also spent time as the top assistant at Clemson University, where he handled the team's ball control, defense and middle hitters. He served as scouting and recruiting coordinator for the Tigers as well.

From 1998-2000, Sheffield was a first assistant coach at the University of Virginia. He was responsible for scouting and game plans, assisted with recruiting and practice, and directed team travel. During his two-year stay at Virginia, the program earned its first two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In 1998, the Cavaliers finished with a 26-8 record, the second-highest victory total in the program's history. Virginia ended the season ranked 23rd in the national RPI rankings. In his final year, Virginia's recruiting class was ranked sixth nationally by Volleyball Magazine.

Prior to his arrival at Virginia, Sheffield served as an assistant at the University of Houston in 1997. The Cougars captured their seventh consecutive NCAA berth and won the Conference USA Tournament.

He has extensive experience coaching junior volleyball teams. Sheffield was the head coach of the Houston Juniors from 1997-98 and Munciana (Ind.) Volleyball Club from 1989-97.

Sheffield began his coaching career at Muncie Burris High School where he was a varsity assistant for a squad that won two state championships and a national championship. He also was an assistant at New Castle High School, a team that achieved a top-10 state ranking in the 1990s.

Sheffield was one of nine members of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Rules Committee from 2004-2007, and was chair of the committee in 2006-2007. He also represented the America East Conference on the Division I Head Coaches' Committee. That group advises the AVCA on matters relating to Division I NCAA volleyball, such as legislation, recruiting, and ethics and conduct.

Sheffield earned his bachelor's degree in general studies from Ball State University. He has also worked as an evaluator and court coach for USA Volleyball Junior National Team Tryouts.

Sheffield and his wife Cathy welcomed their first child, Alexa Grace, on Sept. 28, 2010. The family of three resides in Springboro, Ohio. Cathy (Arnette) lettered for two seasons at Villanova and Virginia as a setter and defensive specialist.



Career Head Coaching Record

AWARDS
2012 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year
2011 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year
2010 AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year
2010 Atlantic 10 Co-Coach of the Year
2006 America East Conference Coach of the Year
2004 America East Conference Coach of the Year

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Atlantic 10 regular season
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Atlantic 10 tournament
2004, 2005, 2006 American East regular season
2004, 2006, 2007 American East tournament

AVCA ALL-AMERICANS
Lindsay Fletemier – 2010 Second Team; 2009 Third Team; 2008 Honorable Mention
Jessica Yanz – 2010 Honorable Mention
Megan Campbell – 2011 Third Team
Rachel Krabacher – 2011 Honorable Mention
Samantha Selsky – 2011 Honorable Mention
Blair Buchanan (Albany) – 2004, 05 Honorable Mention

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