COLUMBUS, Ohio – Stanford head coach John Dunning has been tabbed the 2016 American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year, the organization announced today.
Dunning, who is in his 16th year at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 32nd overall as a Division I head coach, has guided the Cardinal to its 20th NCAA Final Four.
It marks his second AVCA National Coach of the Year award as he was also honored in 2001, his first season on The Farm which ended with the program's fifth national title. The Cardinal's 20 Final Fours is tops in the nation, as is its 113 NCAA Tournament victories.
Dunning, who was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2011, has also been recognized as the best in the nation two additional times during his career – in 1985 as the Volleyball Monthly National Coach of the Year and in 1986 as the PCAA Coach of the Year.
Overall, he has four NCAA championships (two at Pacific, two at Stanford) and has taken his team to 12 Final Fours, including eight of the 16 teams he has coached at Stanford. Throughout his career he has coached 38 All-Americans to 77 total awards.
This season, Dunning has produced four AVCA All-Americans, including the 2016 National Player of the Year Kathryn Plummer. Redshirt senior Inky Ajanaku became a three-time first team All-American. Plummer also earned first team honors, while redshirt junior Merete Lutz collected third-team accolades. Freshman Audriana Fitzmorris garnered honorable mention.
The Cardinal will face No. 2 seed Minnesota in the national semifinal on Thursday, Dec. 15 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The match will be televised on ESPN at 4 p.m. PT.