AVCA Thirty Under 30

LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of South Alabama volleyball head coach Alexis Meeks was named a 2019 Thirty Under 30 Award winner by the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Wednesday.

Meeks was one of 11 Division I coaches who received the award, which was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport. To qualify for the Thirty Under 30 Award, nominees had to be younger than 30 years old.

Meeks joined the Jaguar program as head coach in December 2018 after leading West Alabama to a 22-10 record, a school-record 13 league wins, as well as the program's first-ever NCAA Division II Tournament appearance en route to being named the 2018 Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year. In three seasons, Meeks guided UWA to a 58-40 mark and 33-19 GSC record. Her .592 winning percentage is the best in UWA history.

In addition to leading UWA to the NCAA Division II Tournament, Meeks helped the program tie for second in the final regular-season conference standings for its highest finish since the 2009 season. Her efforts helped Kassie Till earn honorable mention American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America honors, with Till and fellow sophomore Madison Cooler receiving All-Region recognition from the organization.

The Tigers had four All-Gulf South honorees as well, including the league's Setter and Freshman of the Year. During the 2017 season, Meeks guided the Tigers to a berth in the GSC Tournament following an 11-5 league finish as they tied for third in the regular-season standings while ending the year 19- 14 overall. Under her direction that fall, Briana Sandifer was an honorable mention AVCA All-Region selection, Till was voted the conference freshman of the year and two student-athletes garnered All-GSC accolades. In her first season directing the program, UWA posted its first winning record in five years after going 17-16 overall.

"There have been many days that I have questioned whether I am good enough for this profession," Meeks said. "Days where I felt like I could have given more and days where I felt like I could have been there for my players better. I do take my job very personally and there are many days where I have chosen my career over my family. This award means that I need to cut myself a little more slack. It is a recognition of the staff I have surrounded myself with, the talented kids I have had the privilege to coach and an acknowledgment of the tough days where I have had to persevere for my program. I am beyond thankful for this honor and am thankful for all of the young coaches in this profession who work endless hours for their programs. I am extremely excited for the future of this sport and for my future as a coach.

"I just want to thank every kid who trusted me to be their coach, every staff member I have had for believing in my vision and supporting me through it all and every administrator who supported me and took a chance on a young eager coach. This is for all of you."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Rally Score Club, the volleyball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Rally Score Club go directly to support the South Alabama volleyball program. For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/rallyscoreclub.