For the seventh-consecutive season, the Lady Toppers found themselves ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll, spending two weeks ranked and the remainder of the season receiving votes. "You got hit by lightning," his doctor would later tell him. “It is with profound sadness that we deal with the loss of Alyssa Cavanaugh,” WKU Volleyball head coach … The 2016 WKU squad proved to be one of the elite teams in the nation both on and off the court. Later that year, Hudson was named the head coach at WKU, making him (at the time) the youngest head coach in the nation at age 24. Women's Volleyball Head Coach: Phillip White: Women's Volleyball Associate Head Coach: Kevin Carroll: Women's Volleyball Assistant Coach ... Louisville, Ky. WKU. After taking over the helm in 1995 and finishing that campaign with a 7-26 overall record, a resurgence in WKU Volleyball came at an astounding pace. The following year, he and the Tops avoided disaster en route to Mobile, Alabama, for a match. Prior to assuming the head coaching duties for the Lady Toppers in 1995, he served as an assistant coach for two years with Mark Hardaway, who left The Hill to take the head coaching position at Evansville, and one campaign under Jeff Hulsmeyer, former head coach at Purdue. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance. That streak would stretch to 38 matches before a setback at North Texas. He is a firm believer in living up to the term "student-athlete," and one can hardly argue with the results. "I remember thinking Western Kentucky was a school I thought I could never possibly play at the first time around.". Six seasons later, Hudson was Sun Belt Coach of the Year, the first of more than a dozen accolades for one of the most decorated fixtures in the sport. While in college in the early 1990’s, Hudson volunteered his time to the volleyball team. Hudson joins an elite group of leaders to hit the milestone and is just the 19th active DI volleyball coach to achieve the feat. WKU logged the second-best GPA in the nation (3.606) in 2000, and an equally impressive mark (3.56) in 2001. Lucas went on to join Potts while becoming the first Lady Topper to earn First Team honors from the organization. Flipping on the monitor changed the calm of the room. The senior ultimately won the fan vote and earned First Team All-American status from the prestigious organization. Nadia Dieudonne collected C-USA Setter of the Year honors and AVCA All-Region recognition in her first year on The Hill. BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Four-time All-American and WKU Volleyball legend Alyssa Cavanaugh passed away Friday morning at Norton Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Had he waited even a few weeks longer, his doctor told him melanoma would have entered his bloodstream. "That's where it all started," said Hudson, hired for the full-time position in 1995. Engle repeated as a C-USA All-Academic honoree in 2015 while Jessica Lucas earned a spot on the team in 2016. Hudson hit the ceiling but crawled to the front, used his 6-foot-5 frame to splay over the deceased driver and steered the bus to safety with no players injured. Our culture here is unique; it's one I've spent my whole career building. 15. WKU hit the ground running come postseason time in 2017, getting to play all five postseason matches in the Bluegrass State. WKU finished the year with a 30-3 record in addition to two more league titles. Hudson cites six core values -- respect, trust, hard work, accountability, positivity and a team-before-me attitude -- behind WKU volleyball's culture, pillars that fell short last year. Additionally, the senior collected Conference USA's coveted Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship. After a 2019 season in which the Western Kentucky University volleyball program continued to climb to new heights, the Conference USA coaches have picked the Hilltoppers to … On Friday morning, former WKU Volleyball All-American Alyssa Cavanaugh passed away at the Norton Hospital in Louisville. 781 Volleyball Coach jobs available on Indeed.com. He loved basketball but was better at football and visited a handful of schools officially, including Western Kentucky. In 2017, Sydney Engle and Lucas received the honor. Records created by volleyball coaches regarding camps and team. It wasn't close to the culture it had been in the past. This NCAA tournament is also about savoring for Hudson. BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Alyssa Cavanaugh had finished up her volleyball career at Western Kentucky University, graduated, and was preparing for a professional career playing overseas. She was 24. In 2013, WKU volleyball had its first-ever Senior CLASS Award national finalist in Ashley Potts. WKU head coach Travis Hudson argues a call during their 3-0 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday, ... WKU volleyball announces C-USA schedule By the Daily News Nov 19, 2020 1.7K likes. He never dreamed that would be as volleyball coach at his alma mater. A 1994 graduate of WKU, Hudson holds a bachelor's degree in business management with a marketing emphasis. They go back to the day before Easter in 2018. Indexed with yellow tabs, it goes where he does. One name easily comes to mind when thinking of Western Kentucky University volleyball --Travis Hudson. One year after that bus ride, WKU is completing a different journey. WKU head volleyball coach Travis Hudson salutes fans after the Hilltoppers’ victory over Kennesaw State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Diddle Arena on December 5, 2019. Official Facebook page of the WKU Lady Topper volleyball team WKU's success on and off the court has been a labor of love for Hudson, dating back to his days as a student at WKU. The Hilltoppers coach doesn't fancy himself much of a writer, but he began to scribble down some thoughts. “I’ve dreamed of what I … But he had no reason to suspect it was a heart attack. Home; Schools. With an experienced core, the 2017 WKU Volleyball squad continued finding new records to break. She was 24. More:Alyssa Cavanaugh, Louisville native and former WKU volleyball star, dies at 24 Her journey started in Louisville. Following the 2018-19 school year, Hudson worked with USA Volleyball for the second time. In his first season, the Hilltoppers finished 7-26. He wasn't sure what caused the shortness of breath and throbbing pain radiating from his left arm during a drive to the hardware store. "I loved that Travis had his players do that. Get updated NCAA Women's Volleyball DI rankings from every source, including coaches and national polls. FOJ would forever change the lives of people involved with WKU volleyball, as the group connected the team with Harlie Bryant in 2012. His goal was to become the first person in his family to graduate college. He would go on to notch his 500th career victory a day later with a sweep of Colgate. In retrospect, maybe it should have been. The Lady Toppers are also recognized on a national scale, as WKU has ranked as high as No. She was 24. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.– WKU Volleyball veteran head coach Travis Hudson has once again accepted an invitation to join one of USA Volleyball’s coaching staffs as Hudson will work with USA Volleyball’s Collegiate National Team in Anaheim this summer.USA Volleyball announced the roster and coaching staff on Monday. In 1996, he married the former Cindy Wiseman, a graduate of the University of Louisville's School of Allied Health with a degree in physical therapy. A piece of plaque flaking off his artery had landed in the worst of places -- directly blocking the main valve that supplied blood to Hudson's heart. This season marks the 20th consecutive year the Tops have won at least 20 games. To the contrary, he continues to ambitiously set new goals for his program and his players, pushing them to reach heights never before seen at WKU. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville native and Western Kentucky University volleyball legend Alyssa Cavanaugh died Friday morning at age 24, according to WKU… S 5'9" Fr. Hudson never touched a volleyball prior to attending Western Kentucky, just a half hour away from his hometown, Bee Spring. While the Tops bowed out of the tournament, a statement was made that Diddle Arena was near the top of the list of volleyball atmospheres across the country. A first-generation college graduate, he planned to be hands-on with wherever his management degree took him. More than four hours later, when the bus pulled into campus, Hudson wasn't done. "I'm proud of many things that have gone on here, but I'm proud of this season maybe more," Hudson said. In addition to his on-court successes, Hudson is fiercely proud of the achievements his players have produced in the classroom. She didn't look alarmed. For a week in late June, Hudson traveled to Anaheim, Calif., to help coach the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team. Originally from Beaver Dam, Ky., Bryant was diagnosed with a brain tumor behind her eyes at a young age. With a cumulative GPA of 3.514, the Lady Toppers have earned the Team Academic Award for the 18th time since 1999. "My first two years, I loved being here. 21 in the nation in 2012, the first time in program history that a team finished the season ranked. Five times the American Volleyball Coaches Association named him its South Regional Coach of the Year. A fitness buff, he eats right. After leading WKU to a 15-1 league record, Hudson earned his first Conference USA Coach of the Year honor. video platform powered by CBS Sports Digital, - 2019 AVCA South Region Coach of the Year, - 2017 AVCA South Region Coach of the Year, - 2016 AVCA South Region Coach of the Year, - 2013 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, - 2012 AVCA South Region Coach of the Year, - 2012 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, - 2005 AVCA South Region Coach of the Year, - 2005 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, - 2002 AVCA South Region Coach of the Year, - 2002 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, - 2000 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, - C-USA Regular Season: 2014, '15, '16, '17, '19, - C-USA Tournament: 2014, '15, '16, '17, '19, - SBC Regular Season: 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '11, '12, '13, - SBC Tournament: 2002, '05, '08, '11, '12, - Alyssa Cavanaugh: 2014, '15, '16, '17 (Third Team), - Three C-USA Players of the Year (2016, '17, '19), - 24 All-C-USA honorees; 17 All-C-USA First Team, - Four C-USA Setter of the Year selections, - Two AVCA South Region Players of the Year (2017, '19), - 59 All-SBC honorees; 35 All-SBC First Team, - Summer 2017 - USA Women’s Junior National Training Team, - Summer 2019 - USA Women's Collegiate National Team. 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