Women's Volleyball
Meske, Dan
Dan Meske
- Title:
- Dan and Maria Durbin Head Volleyball Coach
- Email:
- meske@GoCards.com
Coaching Experience
University of Louisville
The Dan and Maria Durbin Head Volleyball Coach – 1st Season (hired January, 2025)
University of Louisville Louisville (Associate Head Coach) 2017-2024
Augustana University (Head Coach) 2015-16
University of Nebraska (Assistant Coach 2011-14; Volunteer Coach 2009-10; Graduate Assistant 2007-08)
As a Player (2004-07 Ohio State, Professional 2008)
Dan Meske, who spent eight seasons (2017-2024) as Louisville's associate head coach, was named the Dan and Maria Durbin Head Volleyball Coach on January 31, 2025 by Director of Athletics Josh Heird.
Meske becomes the eighth head coach in program history after a stint as the associate head coach that saw the Cards earn a pair of national runner-up finishes, three national semifinals appearances, and four ACC titles. During his time as the associate, Meske was also named the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 2022 season, becoming the first male ever to win the award.
The 2024 season saw Meske help lead the Cardinals to their second national title game appearance in three years while finishing with a final record of 30-6 and an ACC record of 17-3. The Cards took down Pittsburgh, the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, to earn a spot in the national title game on their home floor at the KFC Yum! Center before falling in four sets to Penn State. Meske helped guide the Cardinals to wins over Chicago State, No. 8 Northern Iowa, No. 4 Purdue, and No. 2 Stanford to make it back to the Final Four for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
At the conclusion of the season, four Cards were recognized as AVCA All-Americans: Elena Scott (first team), Anna DeBeer (second team), Cara Cresse (honorable mention), and Charitie Luper (honorable mention). Scott was also named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and Nayelis Cabello was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Year. DeBeer, Scott, and Luper were also honored as First Team All-ACC, while Cresse was named Second Team All-ACC and Cabello was recognized on the Freshman All-ACC team. Cresse, DeBeer, Luper, and Scott were also named to the AVCA All-South Region team while Reese Robins was listed as an Honorable Mention. Additionally, Meske was critical to leading the Cardinals to an average of 3.09 blocks per set, the top mark in the nation for the 2024 season.
The Cardinals posted a 27-5 campaign in 2023 where Meske helped coached the Cards to their highest national ranking of the year at No. 2 and a final national ranking of No. 6. UofL put up an ACC record of 15-3, finishing third and made the Cards' fourth trip to the Elite Eight, ninth trip to the Sweet Sixteen and 32nd NCAA appearance. ACC Year End Awards included Player of the Year Anna DeBeer and Defensive Player of the Year Elena Scott. DeBeer was also named AVCA East Region Player of the Year. Elle Glock, Charitie Luper, Aiko Jones, Cara Cresse and Elena Scott were voted to the First Team and Phekran Kong was voted HM All-East Region.
In 2022, Coach Meske helped take the Cardinals to yet another program first. His role in the Cardinals' success was acknowledged when he was voted the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year, the first male to ever win the award. As the No. 2 overall seed, the No. 2-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team (31-3, 17-1) advanced to its second-straight Final Four appearance. After beating ACC rival Pittsburgh in the NCAA National Semi-finals, the Cardinals advanced to their first-ever NCAA Championships match before falling to top-seeded Texas.
With Meske's help, the Cardinals earned their spot in the Final Four after sweeping No. 4 Baylor in the Sweet 16, before defeating No. 3 Oregon in a five-set thriller in the Elite Eight. The Cards dispatched Samford and Purdue in the first and second rounds at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena without dropping a set. UofL earned the ACC's automatic qualifier with a 17-1 record in the league with Busboom Kelly being voted ACC Coach of the Year. Claire Chaussee was voted ACC Player of the Year. Raquel Lazaro was voted ACC Setter of the Year and libero Elena Scott winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Chaussee was also named as a finalist for the Honda Sport Award.
The Cards placed four players on the AVCA All-American Team with Claire Chaussee being named an AVCA First Team All-American. Chaussee was joined by All-American teammates Elena Scott, who earned Second Team honors, Amaya Tillman, who earned Third Team honors, and Raquel Lazaro, who earned Honorable Mention honors. On the academic side, Amaya Tillman won the NCAA Elite 90 Award at the Final Four as well as earning the ACC Post-graduate Scholarship and was the ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year.
In 2021, Meske was a part of the staff that helped Louisville volleyball put together its best season in program history, finishing 32-1 on the year, winning 32 straight games and leading the Cards to their first No. 1 ranking in program history. The Cards stood atop the national stage with his head coach Dani Busboom Kelly earning AVCA National Coach of the year after becoming the first woman in NCAA history to coach and undefeated regular season. UofL made its first Final Four appearance in program history with more historic firsts including Tori Dilfer and Anna Stevenson becoming the programs first First-Team All- Americans while Anna DeBeer earned Third-Team recognition after the historic season. The 28-0 regular season marked the first undefeated regular season in program history making Louisville the first team to finish the regular season undefeated since Missouri in 2013. The Cards beat three Top Ten teams in 9 days: No. 6 Purdue, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 6 Nebraska. The win over Kentucky was the first time the two teams clashed while both ranked in the Top 10. The sweep of Nebraska was the first in Lincoln since Wisconsin swept the Huskers on Oct. 5, 2019. The match marked a victory over highest ranked opponent since the Sweet Sixteen win over No. 2 ranked Texas in 2019 and the first win over Nebraska in six meetings. The Cards set a new attendance record of 1,258 for the L&N Arena versus Kentucky.The Cards set a new school volleyball home attendance record at Freedom Hall with 5,917 versus Georgia Tech.
The Cardinals garnered a wealth of ACC honors beginning when eight Cardinals landed on All-ACC teams for their efforts to lead the Cards to the 2021 ACC title. UofL’s Tori Dilfer brought home ACC Setter of the Year honors while Coach Busboom Kelly was named ACC Coach of the Year. When the postseason came around, Tori Dilfer earned Most Outstanding Player of the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament after helping lead Louisville to wins over Florida and Georgia Tech. AVCA Honors included East Region Player of the Year Tori Dilfer; East Region Coach of the Year Dani Busboom Kelly; East All-Region Team Anna DeBeer, Tori Dilfer, Aiko Jones, Elena Scott, Anna Stevenson, and Amaya Tillman as well as East All-Region Team Honorable Mention team member Claire Chaussee. With the wins in the first and second rounds, the Cards notched their sixth 30+ win season.
The 2020 season for Cardinal volleyball stretched eight months, beginning in September and, for the first time, extending into the second semester of the school year. The Cardinals masked up and put together an 15-3 record and won the ACC Championship. UofL earned its highest postseason seeding with a No. 11 ranking going into the 48-team field. A 3-1 win over San Diego gave the Cardinals their sixth overall and second consecutive trip to the Sweet Sixteen. UofL won four of the ACC’s five major honors as senior Tori Dilfer was named Setter of the Year, sophomore middle blocker Amaya Tillman was voted Defensive Player of the Year, outside hitter Anna DeBeer was selected Freshman of the Year and Dani Busboom Kelly was named Coach of the Year. Dilfer, DeBeer, Stevenson and Aiko Jones were named First Team All-ACC and Amaya Tillman was Second Team All-ACC. Louisville placed four players, DeBeer, Dilfer, Aiko Jones and Stevenson, on the AVCA East All-Region Team. Busboom Kelly was named the East Region Coach of the Year and DeBeer won East Region Freshman of the Year. Stevenson was selected as an AVCA Second Team All-American with Dilfer being chosen as an AVCA Third Team All-American. In addition, DeBeer earned AVCA All-American Honorable Mention honors. Stevenson and Dilfer were also selected as members of the US Collegiate National Team. The Cardinals led the nation in blocks per set and led the league in opponent hitting percentage. Louisville also ranked among the top five in the ACC in hitting percentage (second), kills per set (second) and assists per set (second).
In 2019, led by All-American Aiko Jones, the Cardinals had their highest finish in program history, toppling No. 2 Texas in Austin for a trip to the program’s first Elite Eight. UofL, an at-large selection from the ACC, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen after beating Samford in the first round and upsetting intrastate rival Western Kentucky to advance to the Austin Regional. Anna Stevenson joined Jones on the All-ACC list and Jones earned AVCA All-Region honors and was named an HM All-American. Amaya Tillman was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. The UofL staff landed the No. 17-ranked recruiting class to the squad which includes native Louisvillian Anna DeBeer, who was Kentucky's Ms. Volleyball, and was named the top female athlete in the state of Kentucky by MaxPreps. Meske and the staff continued to stress academics and the Cards’ hard work paid off as 11 players were named to the ACC Honor Roll, 11 were Red/Black Scholars and five made the prestigious All-ACC Academic team.
In 2018, the Cardinals made their 27th appearance in the NCAA and returned to the national polls with the Cardinals punching in at a high of No. 21 in the AVCA. The Cards earned an RPI of 37 led by UofL’s setter, Wilma Rivera, who was named ACC Setter of the Year and led the conference in assists. Melanie McHenry, Wilma Rivera and Molly Sauer earned First Team All-ACC honors followed by AVCA All-East Region Honors with those three also earning HM All-American status. The Cardinals finished the season at 22-9. The Cardinal coaching staff gathered the No. 16 ranked recruiting class in the nation. Piper Roe and Tori Dilfer were named to the US Collegiate National Team, with Roe competed in Anaheim and Dilfer headed to the World University Games in Napoli, Italy.
In the 2017 season, the Cardinals were picked eighth in the ACC pre-season poll but battled their way to an ACC Championship, posting a 24-7 record, going 18-2 in the league. In charge of the defense and middle blockers, Meske helped the Cardinals lead the league in opponent hitting percentage (.159) and garner All-Confence awards for both starting middles. The lightly regarded team won two of the conference’s major postseason awards as well with junior setter Wilma Rivera being named as the 2017 ACC Setter of the Year and teammate Molly Sauer picking up her second ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. Louisville outside hitter Melanie McHenry joined Wilma Rivera on the First Team All-ACC winners, with Molly Sauer, Tess Clark, Maggie DeJong and Jasmine Bennett earning Second Team All-ACC. Rivera was named as an AVCA honorable mention All American with Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly taking the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year honor. McHenry and Rivera were both named to the AVCA All-East Region teams. Amanda Green and Molly Sauer both earned a berth on the US Collegiate National Team and toured Europe and China respectively. Busboom Kelly was named the head coach of the USCNT-Europe Tour. In all, six Cardinals were named to the Academic All-ACC team.
At Augustana, Meske led the Vikings to a 45-17 record over two seasons. In 2016, the Vikings made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008, finishing the year at 27-6. Augustana won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2006 with a first-round victory over #2 Nebraska-Kearney. The 2016 season proved to be a year of landmark wins for the Vikings as they knocked off the AVCA #1, #2, and #3 teams throughout the year with wins over #1 Minnesota-Duluth, #2 Nebraska-Kearney, and #3 Palm Beach Atlantic. Meske's team concluded the 2016 season ranked eighth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 poll and being ranked in the AVCA Top-10 for 10 straight weeks. Tahlyr Banks was named NSIC Libero of the Year for the Vikings. In all, he coached 16 Academic All-NSIC honorees and 5 All-NSIC Selections.
In 2015, Meske guided the Vikings to an 18-11 overall record and an 11-9 record in the NSIC including a berth in the NSIC Conference tournament. He made winning at home a point of emphasis for his team that year, going 11-3 in the Elmen Center. During the 2015 season, Meske led both Ashley Wilson and Tahlyr Banks to second team All-NSIC honors. Banks set a school record for digs in a match with 50 against Washburn which was also the best mark in Division II.
Meske spent eight seasons at the University of Nebraska as a graduate assistant, volunteer assistant and a full-time assistant coach. He was in charge of coordinating the Huskers' blocking defense as well as video scouting, team managers and assisting with camps. He worked primarily with Nebraska's middle blockers.
In his eight seasons at Nebraska, the Huskers compiled a record of 216-44 and won three Big 12 Championships, a Big Ten Championship and made eight NCAA Tournament appearances. Meske also helped oversee the inauguration and emergence of the Huskers' sand volleyball program and helped the team become a top-10 program in just its third year in existence.
In junior volleyball, Meske worked as a club camp coach for Sports Performance Volleyball Club in Chicago from 2004 to 2009. He led his Sports Performance 16s team to a club silver medal in the 2009 AAU National Championships and in 2012, Meske led his Nebraska 14s team to an open silver medal in the 2012 AAU National Championships.
Meske is a 2007 graduate of Ohio State University where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in construction management. He played four seasons for Coach Pete Hanson, appearing in 117 career matches for the Buckeyes and helping OSU to a national semifinal appearance in 2005. Ohio State won 88 matches and a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association titles during his career. He was All-MIVA in 2007, a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection and a four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete during his collegiate career.
Meske, a native of Willow Springs, Ill., spent one season playing professionally in Indonesia, helping BNI Taplus Volleyball to a regular-season title and a national runner-up finish in 2008.
He received his master's degree in leadership and development from Nebraska in 2010.
Dan and his wife, Laurel, are the parents of three sons, Ryne, Maddox and Hendricks.
University of Louisville
The Dan and Maria Durbin Head Volleyball Coach – 1st Season (hired January, 2025)
University of Louisville Louisville (Associate Head Coach) 2017-2024
- 2017: 27-4 (NCAA 1st round)
- 2018: 24-9 (NCAA 2nd round)
- 2019: 22-10 (NCAA Elite Eight)
- 2020: 15-3 (NCAA Sweet Sixteen)
- 2021: 32-1 (NCAA National Semifinals)
- 2022: 31-3 (NCAA National Runnerup)
- 2023: 27-5 (NCAA Elite Eight)
- 2024: 30-6 (NCAA National Runnerup)
Augustana University (Head Coach) 2015-16
- 2015: 18-11
- 2016: 27-6 (Ranked No. 8, NCAA Second Round)
University of Nebraska (Assistant Coach 2011-14; Volunteer Coach 2009-10; Graduate Assistant 2007-08)
- 2007: 30-2 (NCAA Regional Final)
- 2008: 31-3 (NCAA Semifinal)
- 2009: 26-7 NCAA Regional Final)
- 2010: 29-3 (NCAA Regional Semifinal)
- 2011: 25-5 (NCAA Second Round)
- 2012: 26-7 (NCAA Regional Final)
- 2013: 26-7 (NCAA Regional Final)
- 2014: 23-10 (NCAA Regional Final)
As a Player (2004-07 Ohio State, Professional 2008)
- Helped OSU to a national semifinal appearance in 2005
- Helped OSU to two Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Titles
- All-MIVA (2007)
- Three-Time Academic All-Big Ten
- Four-Time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete
- Played professionally in Indonesia, helping BNI Taplus VB to regular season title and national runner-up
- AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year 2022
- Native of Willow Springs, Ill.
- Ohio State 2007 (Bachelor’s in Construction Management)
- Nebraska 2010 (Master’s in Leadership Development)
- Married to Laurel, Sons Ryne, Maddox and Hendricks
Dan Meske, who spent eight seasons (2017-2024) as Louisville's associate head coach, was named the Dan and Maria Durbin Head Volleyball Coach on January 31, 2025 by Director of Athletics Josh Heird.
Meske becomes the eighth head coach in program history after a stint as the associate head coach that saw the Cards earn a pair of national runner-up finishes, three national semifinals appearances, and four ACC titles. During his time as the associate, Meske was also named the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 2022 season, becoming the first male ever to win the award.
The 2024 season saw Meske help lead the Cardinals to their second national title game appearance in three years while finishing with a final record of 30-6 and an ACC record of 17-3. The Cards took down Pittsburgh, the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, to earn a spot in the national title game on their home floor at the KFC Yum! Center before falling in four sets to Penn State. Meske helped guide the Cardinals to wins over Chicago State, No. 8 Northern Iowa, No. 4 Purdue, and No. 2 Stanford to make it back to the Final Four for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
At the conclusion of the season, four Cards were recognized as AVCA All-Americans: Elena Scott (first team), Anna DeBeer (second team), Cara Cresse (honorable mention), and Charitie Luper (honorable mention). Scott was also named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and Nayelis Cabello was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Year. DeBeer, Scott, and Luper were also honored as First Team All-ACC, while Cresse was named Second Team All-ACC and Cabello was recognized on the Freshman All-ACC team. Cresse, DeBeer, Luper, and Scott were also named to the AVCA All-South Region team while Reese Robins was listed as an Honorable Mention. Additionally, Meske was critical to leading the Cardinals to an average of 3.09 blocks per set, the top mark in the nation for the 2024 season.
The Cardinals posted a 27-5 campaign in 2023 where Meske helped coached the Cards to their highest national ranking of the year at No. 2 and a final national ranking of No. 6. UofL put up an ACC record of 15-3, finishing third and made the Cards' fourth trip to the Elite Eight, ninth trip to the Sweet Sixteen and 32nd NCAA appearance. ACC Year End Awards included Player of the Year Anna DeBeer and Defensive Player of the Year Elena Scott. DeBeer was also named AVCA East Region Player of the Year. Elle Glock, Charitie Luper, Aiko Jones, Cara Cresse and Elena Scott were voted to the First Team and Phekran Kong was voted HM All-East Region.
In 2022, Coach Meske helped take the Cardinals to yet another program first. His role in the Cardinals' success was acknowledged when he was voted the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year, the first male to ever win the award. As the No. 2 overall seed, the No. 2-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team (31-3, 17-1) advanced to its second-straight Final Four appearance. After beating ACC rival Pittsburgh in the NCAA National Semi-finals, the Cardinals advanced to their first-ever NCAA Championships match before falling to top-seeded Texas.
With Meske's help, the Cardinals earned their spot in the Final Four after sweeping No. 4 Baylor in the Sweet 16, before defeating No. 3 Oregon in a five-set thriller in the Elite Eight. The Cards dispatched Samford and Purdue in the first and second rounds at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena without dropping a set. UofL earned the ACC's automatic qualifier with a 17-1 record in the league with Busboom Kelly being voted ACC Coach of the Year. Claire Chaussee was voted ACC Player of the Year. Raquel Lazaro was voted ACC Setter of the Year and libero Elena Scott winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Chaussee was also named as a finalist for the Honda Sport Award.
The Cards placed four players on the AVCA All-American Team with Claire Chaussee being named an AVCA First Team All-American. Chaussee was joined by All-American teammates Elena Scott, who earned Second Team honors, Amaya Tillman, who earned Third Team honors, and Raquel Lazaro, who earned Honorable Mention honors. On the academic side, Amaya Tillman won the NCAA Elite 90 Award at the Final Four as well as earning the ACC Post-graduate Scholarship and was the ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year.
In 2021, Meske was a part of the staff that helped Louisville volleyball put together its best season in program history, finishing 32-1 on the year, winning 32 straight games and leading the Cards to their first No. 1 ranking in program history. The Cards stood atop the national stage with his head coach Dani Busboom Kelly earning AVCA National Coach of the year after becoming the first woman in NCAA history to coach and undefeated regular season. UofL made its first Final Four appearance in program history with more historic firsts including Tori Dilfer and Anna Stevenson becoming the programs first First-Team All- Americans while Anna DeBeer earned Third-Team recognition after the historic season. The 28-0 regular season marked the first undefeated regular season in program history making Louisville the first team to finish the regular season undefeated since Missouri in 2013. The Cards beat three Top Ten teams in 9 days: No. 6 Purdue, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 6 Nebraska. The win over Kentucky was the first time the two teams clashed while both ranked in the Top 10. The sweep of Nebraska was the first in Lincoln since Wisconsin swept the Huskers on Oct. 5, 2019. The match marked a victory over highest ranked opponent since the Sweet Sixteen win over No. 2 ranked Texas in 2019 and the first win over Nebraska in six meetings. The Cards set a new attendance record of 1,258 for the L&N Arena versus Kentucky.The Cards set a new school volleyball home attendance record at Freedom Hall with 5,917 versus Georgia Tech.
The Cardinals garnered a wealth of ACC honors beginning when eight Cardinals landed on All-ACC teams for their efforts to lead the Cards to the 2021 ACC title. UofL’s Tori Dilfer brought home ACC Setter of the Year honors while Coach Busboom Kelly was named ACC Coach of the Year. When the postseason came around, Tori Dilfer earned Most Outstanding Player of the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament after helping lead Louisville to wins over Florida and Georgia Tech. AVCA Honors included East Region Player of the Year Tori Dilfer; East Region Coach of the Year Dani Busboom Kelly; East All-Region Team Anna DeBeer, Tori Dilfer, Aiko Jones, Elena Scott, Anna Stevenson, and Amaya Tillman as well as East All-Region Team Honorable Mention team member Claire Chaussee. With the wins in the first and second rounds, the Cards notched their sixth 30+ win season.
The 2020 season for Cardinal volleyball stretched eight months, beginning in September and, for the first time, extending into the second semester of the school year. The Cardinals masked up and put together an 15-3 record and won the ACC Championship. UofL earned its highest postseason seeding with a No. 11 ranking going into the 48-team field. A 3-1 win over San Diego gave the Cardinals their sixth overall and second consecutive trip to the Sweet Sixteen. UofL won four of the ACC’s five major honors as senior Tori Dilfer was named Setter of the Year, sophomore middle blocker Amaya Tillman was voted Defensive Player of the Year, outside hitter Anna DeBeer was selected Freshman of the Year and Dani Busboom Kelly was named Coach of the Year. Dilfer, DeBeer, Stevenson and Aiko Jones were named First Team All-ACC and Amaya Tillman was Second Team All-ACC. Louisville placed four players, DeBeer, Dilfer, Aiko Jones and Stevenson, on the AVCA East All-Region Team. Busboom Kelly was named the East Region Coach of the Year and DeBeer won East Region Freshman of the Year. Stevenson was selected as an AVCA Second Team All-American with Dilfer being chosen as an AVCA Third Team All-American. In addition, DeBeer earned AVCA All-American Honorable Mention honors. Stevenson and Dilfer were also selected as members of the US Collegiate National Team. The Cardinals led the nation in blocks per set and led the league in opponent hitting percentage. Louisville also ranked among the top five in the ACC in hitting percentage (second), kills per set (second) and assists per set (second).
In 2019, led by All-American Aiko Jones, the Cardinals had their highest finish in program history, toppling No. 2 Texas in Austin for a trip to the program’s first Elite Eight. UofL, an at-large selection from the ACC, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen after beating Samford in the first round and upsetting intrastate rival Western Kentucky to advance to the Austin Regional. Anna Stevenson joined Jones on the All-ACC list and Jones earned AVCA All-Region honors and was named an HM All-American. Amaya Tillman was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. The UofL staff landed the No. 17-ranked recruiting class to the squad which includes native Louisvillian Anna DeBeer, who was Kentucky's Ms. Volleyball, and was named the top female athlete in the state of Kentucky by MaxPreps. Meske and the staff continued to stress academics and the Cards’ hard work paid off as 11 players were named to the ACC Honor Roll, 11 were Red/Black Scholars and five made the prestigious All-ACC Academic team.
In 2018, the Cardinals made their 27th appearance in the NCAA and returned to the national polls with the Cardinals punching in at a high of No. 21 in the AVCA. The Cards earned an RPI of 37 led by UofL’s setter, Wilma Rivera, who was named ACC Setter of the Year and led the conference in assists. Melanie McHenry, Wilma Rivera and Molly Sauer earned First Team All-ACC honors followed by AVCA All-East Region Honors with those three also earning HM All-American status. The Cardinals finished the season at 22-9. The Cardinal coaching staff gathered the No. 16 ranked recruiting class in the nation. Piper Roe and Tori Dilfer were named to the US Collegiate National Team, with Roe competed in Anaheim and Dilfer headed to the World University Games in Napoli, Italy.
In the 2017 season, the Cardinals were picked eighth in the ACC pre-season poll but battled their way to an ACC Championship, posting a 24-7 record, going 18-2 in the league. In charge of the defense and middle blockers, Meske helped the Cardinals lead the league in opponent hitting percentage (.159) and garner All-Confence awards for both starting middles. The lightly regarded team won two of the conference’s major postseason awards as well with junior setter Wilma Rivera being named as the 2017 ACC Setter of the Year and teammate Molly Sauer picking up her second ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. Louisville outside hitter Melanie McHenry joined Wilma Rivera on the First Team All-ACC winners, with Molly Sauer, Tess Clark, Maggie DeJong and Jasmine Bennett earning Second Team All-ACC. Rivera was named as an AVCA honorable mention All American with Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly taking the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year honor. McHenry and Rivera were both named to the AVCA All-East Region teams. Amanda Green and Molly Sauer both earned a berth on the US Collegiate National Team and toured Europe and China respectively. Busboom Kelly was named the head coach of the USCNT-Europe Tour. In all, six Cardinals were named to the Academic All-ACC team.
At Augustana, Meske led the Vikings to a 45-17 record over two seasons. In 2016, the Vikings made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008, finishing the year at 27-6. Augustana won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2006 with a first-round victory over #2 Nebraska-Kearney. The 2016 season proved to be a year of landmark wins for the Vikings as they knocked off the AVCA #1, #2, and #3 teams throughout the year with wins over #1 Minnesota-Duluth, #2 Nebraska-Kearney, and #3 Palm Beach Atlantic. Meske's team concluded the 2016 season ranked eighth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 poll and being ranked in the AVCA Top-10 for 10 straight weeks. Tahlyr Banks was named NSIC Libero of the Year for the Vikings. In all, he coached 16 Academic All-NSIC honorees and 5 All-NSIC Selections.
In 2015, Meske guided the Vikings to an 18-11 overall record and an 11-9 record in the NSIC including a berth in the NSIC Conference tournament. He made winning at home a point of emphasis for his team that year, going 11-3 in the Elmen Center. During the 2015 season, Meske led both Ashley Wilson and Tahlyr Banks to second team All-NSIC honors. Banks set a school record for digs in a match with 50 against Washburn which was also the best mark in Division II.
Meske spent eight seasons at the University of Nebraska as a graduate assistant, volunteer assistant and a full-time assistant coach. He was in charge of coordinating the Huskers' blocking defense as well as video scouting, team managers and assisting with camps. He worked primarily with Nebraska's middle blockers.
In his eight seasons at Nebraska, the Huskers compiled a record of 216-44 and won three Big 12 Championships, a Big Ten Championship and made eight NCAA Tournament appearances. Meske also helped oversee the inauguration and emergence of the Huskers' sand volleyball program and helped the team become a top-10 program in just its third year in existence.
In junior volleyball, Meske worked as a club camp coach for Sports Performance Volleyball Club in Chicago from 2004 to 2009. He led his Sports Performance 16s team to a club silver medal in the 2009 AAU National Championships and in 2012, Meske led his Nebraska 14s team to an open silver medal in the 2012 AAU National Championships.
Meske is a 2007 graduate of Ohio State University where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in construction management. He played four seasons for Coach Pete Hanson, appearing in 117 career matches for the Buckeyes and helping OSU to a national semifinal appearance in 2005. Ohio State won 88 matches and a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association titles during his career. He was All-MIVA in 2007, a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection and a four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete during his collegiate career.
Meske, a native of Willow Springs, Ill., spent one season playing professionally in Indonesia, helping BNI Taplus Volleyball to a regular-season title and a national runner-up finish in 2008.
He received his master's degree in leadership and development from Nebraska in 2010.
Dan and his wife, Laurel, are the parents of three sons, Ryne, Maddox and Hendricks.
VB: Highlights vs. Illinois
Sunday, September 07
VB: Highlights vs. St. John's
Monday, September 01
VB: Highlights vs. Morehead State
Sunday, August 31
Highlights: No. 4 Louisville Volleyball vs. Auburn
Saturday, August 30
