Kelly Sheffield Named Volleyball Assistant Coach

March 21, 2000

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson head volleyball coach Jolene Jordan Hoover announced today the hiring of Kelly Sheffield as the Tigers’ new assistant coach. He replaces Karrie Downey Larsen, who was hired as an assistant coach at Colorado State. Sheffield will be responsible for the team’s ball control, defense and middle hitters. He will serve as the team’s scouting and recruiting coordinator.

Sheffield comes to Clemson from Virginia, where he has served as an assistant coach since May 1998. At Virginia, he has been responsible for scouting opponents, implementing game plans, assisting with practice plans and recruiting, and directing team travel. During his time at Virginia, the Cavaliers have earned their first two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In 1998 the team had 26 victories, the second-most wins in the history of the program, while last season marked the first time the Cavaliers had put together consecutive winning seasons. Sheffield has coached five All-ACC players, four AVCA All-District players and two ACC All-Tournament players at Virginia.

Prior to his time at Virginia, Sheffield was an assistant coach at Houston for one season. During the 1997 season, the team earned its seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and won the Conference USA Tournament. That season the Cougars produced four all-conference players and the Conference USA Freshman of the Year.

Sheffield has extensive experience coaching junior volleyball teams. He was the head coach of the Houston Juniors from 1997-98 and coached the Munciana (IN) Volleyball Club from 1989-97. During that time he trained the team to six-straight Top-20 finishes at the U.S. Junior Nationals. Sheffield began his coaching career at Muncie Burris (IN) High, where he was an assistant coach on the staff that led the varsity teams to two state championships and a national championship. His three-year junior varsity record was 63-0, and his record as a varsity assistant coach was 119-1.

“I have been very impressed by the improvement of Virginia’s team while Kelly has been on its staff,” said Hoover. “Additionally, he comes from a great club program, Munciana, out of Muncie, Indiana. The club is known for its strong fundamentals.”

A native of Muncie, IN, Sheffield earned his bachelor’s degree from Ball State in 1997.