DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University volleyball head coach
Danny Miller notched his 600th career victory as the Cougars dominated Mary Baldwin University 3-0 in conference play Tuesday night at the Grant Center.
Among active Division III coaches, Miller became the 15th to hit the 600-win milestone. Miller has a career record of 600-284 since taking over the program before the 1995 season.
"It's big," Miller said. "It's very humbling and it means a lot — especially to do it at one school and to be able to continue to be successful and be competitive year after year. That's a big number. It's almost surreal."
His latest victory came easily as Averett (11-10, 7-4 USA South) won in three sets, beating Mary Baldwin (1-23, 0-12 USA South) by scores of 25-9, 25-11 and 25-10.
The Cougars had little trouble against the Fighting Squirrels. As a team, Averett finished with a .458 hitting percentage — including hitting over .500 in each of the first two sets. Sophomore
McKenzie Miller played a large role in her father's milestone win, totaling a team-high eight kills with 16 assists, seven digs and two service aces. Senior
Keenan Marks and juniors
Madison Dadez and
Abby Taylor each added six kills for Averett, which improved to 24-0 against Mary Baldwin since 2006. Senior
Emily Stanley added 11 digs and six assists, while Marks finished with 13 assists and three service aces.
The Cougars host conference foe Salem College for Senior Night on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Grant Center.
Miller, in his 24th season as the head coach, earned his first career win in his first match at the helm of the Cougars' program, defeating Bluefield College 3-0 in Averett's old gym on Sept. 2, 1995. He reached 100 wins a little more than three years later, defeating Shenandoah University 3-0 on Oct. 24, 1998, in Danville. His last three major win milestones have come on the road. Miller hit win No. 200 in a 3-0 victory at Guilford College on Oct. 5, 2002, and reached 300 wins in a 3-0 victory over N.C. Wesleyan College on Sept. 16, 2006, on a neutral court in Winchester, Virginia. Miller picked up win No. 400 with a 3-0 victory over Southern Virginia University on a neutral court in Salem, Virginia, on Oct. 9, 2010. Coincidentally, Miller's 500th win also game at home against Mary Baldwin on Oct. 22, 2014.
A nine-time USA South Coach of the Year and member of two Hall of Fames, Miller attributed his success to all the players and assistants who have been a part of the program during his tenure.
"I've had great players and great assistants who have done what I've asked of them and play hard," he said. "I couldn't have done it without them."
