Matt Affolder has drawn from a disciplined work ethic and well-rounded coaching experiences to help elevate Flyer volleyball into a perennial top 25 program. The 2013 campaign will be his first as a head coach after taking over for Kelly Sheffield in the spring of 2013.
On January 18, 2013, the Dayton Athletics department announced the hiring of Affolder as the new head coach for the Dayton Volleyball program.
In addition to overseeing recruiting operations, Affolder’s prior responsibilities as the top assistant coach included opposition scouting, video editing and breakdown, statistical analysis, and coordinating Dayton volleyball’s lineup of instructional camps.
Since arriving on campus in 2008 with long-time friend and former Dayton head coach, Kelly Sheffield, Affolder has guided the Flyers to five NCAA Tournaments – including the program’s first at-large bid in 2008 – and consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The 2010 Flyers became the first team in UD Athletics history to be nationally ranked for the entire season – finishing at No. 15 in the program’s 19th consecutive week in the AVCA Top-25. They repeated that feat in 2012, reaching as high as No. 10 nationally.
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.
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 spent three seasons at Indiana University before coming to Dayton. While serving as recruiting coordinator and coach of the outside hitters with the Hoosiers, several IU individual program records were set including career kills, freshman single-season kill record and single-season hitting percentage.
He helped turn Southern Illinois into a success story while handling all aspects of recruiting with defense coaching responsibilities. The Salukis fashioned a 23-10 overall record that stood as the team's best record in 17 years and was one win shy of the combined total of the previous three seasons (24-62).
Affolder broke onto the college volleyball scene by spending three seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Indiana State. While in Terre Haute, he helped train five All-Missouri Valley Conference selections while aiding the Sycamores’ three consecutive berths in the MVC Tournament.
Additionally, Affolder served as a coach for the tradition-rich Munciana (Ind.) Volleyball Club for seven years. During his time with the club, Munciana captured the 1998 USA Volleyball National Championship for the 16 & Under Club Division, finished in the top 10 twice and boasted 10 USA Volleyball All-Americans.
Affolder also held coaching positions at Wapahani High School and Muncie Central High School. During his time as a high school and club coach, Affolder helped oversee the training of 20 Indiana All-State honorees and 10 high school All-Americans.
The Decatur, Ind., native earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana State University in 2002. He and his wife, Nicole, reside in Centerville with two sons, Joshua and Tyler.
