March 7, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina assistant coach RJ Abella and associate head coach Julie Darty have been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Thirty Under 30 list for 2014, the organization announced Friday.

The list is made up of 30 rising coaching stars at all levels of volleyball who are under 30 years old. South Carolina is the only school with two coaches on the list, and the selection is Darty’s second consecutive. With Abella and Darty helping lead the way this season, Gamecock senior outside hitter Juliette Thévenin was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, first-team AVCA All-Southeast Region and All-SEC selection.

“I am so proud of both Julie and RJ for being named to the Thirty under 30 list,” South Carolina head coach Scott Swanson said. “This is a very well deserved honor for both of them! I am very lucky and grateful to have two very quality and experienced assistant coaches on my staff. With their help we are moving the Gamecock Volleyball program in the right direction and are very excited for the future!”

Abella, who is in his first year in Columbia, spent the previous six years at Missouri Valley power Wichita State, where he helped guide the shockers to an NCAA regional semifinal appearance in 2012. He coached three AVCA All-Americans and nine All-MVC student-athletes during his time as an assistant coach at Wichita State. The Shockers ranked as high as ninth in 2008 in the AVCA poll and made six-straight NCAA Tournaments, culminating in the regional semifinal appearance this past season.

Abella has also coached on the national circuit, helping the USA A2 National Team to a second-place finish in the 2009 USA Open Championships. Abella served as a head coach and the club director with the ICT Elite Volleyball Club in Wichita.

Darty, who is in her second year at South Carolina and serves as the team’s recruiting coordinator, spent two seasons with the Villanova Wildcats prior to joining the Carolina staff, helping them to consecutive top-four finishes in the 15-team BIG EAST. During her time with the Wildcats, Kim Maroon earned third-team AVCA All-America honors and claimed the league’s Libero of the Year award twice. Maggie Mergen and Morgan Petkovich were both named to the All-BIG EAST team twice.

Prior to her stint at Villanova, Darty got her start as an assistant coach at Lake Mary (Fla.) High School. She also helped with the Orlando Volleyball Academy, working with the 14 Asics and 16 Molten squads.