The NAIA has announced the 2017 National Volleyball Coach of the Year for the recently completed season and Chad Hanson has earned the honor for the first time in his career.
Hanson claimed the honor after guiding the Defenders to a 34-8 record and a runner-up finish at the NAIA National Championship for the second year in a row.
The Defenders claimed a share of the GPAC title at the conclusion of the regular season and advanced to the GPAC post-season title match before claiming a runner-up finish. His team then bounced back with a run through the elimination bracket at the NAIA National Championship where it won a match over the third-seed, sixth seed and second-seed before falling in the championship match.
“As a campus community we congratulate Coach Chad Hanson on this well-deserved honor. Coach Hanson did an outstanding job molding this squad throughout the year and was able to effectively get this team to peak their performance at the conclusion of the season. In addition, Coach Hanson is committed to further developing his players in all facets of their lives, using volleyball as a vehicle to achieve that end. We are grateful for Coach Hanson’s dedication to Christian athletics at Dordt College,” said Dordt College athletic director Ross Douma.
Hanson’s team was named the 2017 NAIA Volleyball Champions of Character team and qualified for the NAIA National Championship for the fourth time in under his tutelage.
Hanson is in his seventh year coaching the Defenders and has a career 168-72 record. His teams have claimed GPAC titles twice in his tenure.
The national awards are selected by a committee made up of NAIA-AVCA officers and the NAIA Championship committee.
