Todd Chamberlain - Women's Volleyball Coach - University of Louisville Athletic

Todd Chamberlain

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
toddc@GoCards.com

Todd Chamberlain, a long-time University of Louisville assistant volleyball coach, was elevated to associate head coach of the Cardinals’ staff in February of 2025.

During the 2024 season, Chamberlain, who joined UofL in January of 2018, helped the Cardinals to their second national title game appearance in three years, knocking out the top overall seed Pittsburgh in the national semifinals before falling in the title game to Penn State. The Cards defeated Chicago State, No. 8 Northern Iowa, No. 4 Purdue, and No. 2 Stanford to advance to the Final Four, which was hosted at the KFC Yum! Center, putting a stamp on a season where Louisville recorded a record of 30-6 with a 17-3 mark in ACC play.

Elena Scott and Anna DeBeer were named First Team AVCA All-Americans, while Cara Cresse and Charitie Luper were recognized as Honorable Mention All-Americans. The quartet also earned All-ACC honors as DeBeer, Luper, and Scott were named to the first team and Cresse was recognized as second team while Scott earned her second consecutive ACC Defensive Player of the Year honor and setter Nayelis Cabello was named ACC Freshman of the Year. Cresse, DeBeer, Luper, and Scott were also recognized as members of the AVCA All-South Region team while Reese Robins was listed as an Honorable Mention.

The Cardinals posted a 27-5 campaign in 2023 where Chamberlain helped coach 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, Chamberlain helped take the Cardinals to yet another program first. 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 Semifinals, the Cardinals advanced to their first-ever NCAA Championship match before falling to top-seeded Texas.

Under the guidance of the staff, 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, Todd was 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 head coach Dani Busboom Kelly earning AVCA National Coach of the year after becoming the first woman in NCAA history to coach an 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 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, 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 COVID-shortened season actually 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 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. Chamberlain 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, his first year as on the Cardinal staff, he saw UofL make its 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 Honorable Mention 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.
Chamberlain arrived at UofL after a stint as assistant coach at Kansas. The Louisville native and Trinity High School grad, worked primarily with the Jayhawks’ outside and right-side hitters, and served as the team’s video coordinator and camp director, while assisting with recruitment. In four of Chamberlain’s seven seasons, he helped KU head coach Ray Bechard earn the Big 12 Coach of the Year award (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016). In his role with the hitters, Chamberlain guided one of the program’s breakout players – All-American Kelsie Payne. Chamberlain helped transition Payne from a middle blocker in 2014 to a right-side hitter in 2015, and she went on to become the program’s first AVCA First Team All-American, with teammate setter Ainise Havili, and set KU’s record for kills in a season (496). With the help of an All-American setter, the 2015 Jayhawk hitters recorded a program-record .299 attack percentage.
Chamberlain has also guided Sara McClinton and Chelsea Albers, the duo who became the first hitters in KU history to reach All-America status with AVCA honorable mention recognition in 2013 and both were named to the All-Big 12 First Team. In 2011, Chamberlain helped outside hitter Allison Mayfield turn in a Big 12-best 4.16 kills per set en route to becoming the Jayhawks’ all-time kills leader in a single season (462). In 2010, Chamberlain’s first season, the Jayhawks broke the 1,500-kill mark as a team.

Chamberlain arrived at Kansas following a one-year stint as the volunteer assistant coach at the University of Kentucky in 2009, when the Wildcats finished 29-5 overall, appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-consecutive year and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1992. While at UK, three players earned All-America honors, including honorable mention outside hitter Sarah Mendoza.
Chamberlain played volleyball for four seasons at Ball State University, where he earned first-team All-Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) honors as a senior after pacing the squad with 3.29 kills per set. Ball State was nationally ranked for portions of all four of Chamberlain’s seasons; the Cardinals compiled a 78-39 (.667) record during those years.

No stranger to the coaching sidelines, Chamberlain guided several teams to national and state titles. For two seasons, he worked as an assistant coach under Steve Shondell at Burris High School in Muncie, Ind. The Burris squad captured the 2-A state championship in both 2008 and 2009. Chamberlain also worked with Mike Lingenfelter as an assistant coach for the Munciana Samurai 18-1 Club team that won both the 2009 AAU national championship, but also the 2009 JVDA national championship.

In addition to his collegiate playing career, Chamberlain was a left side attacker on the 2006 Youth National team that played internationally in Cabo Frio, Brazil. In 2007, Chamberlain was a left side attacker for the Junior National training team that practiced at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Chamberlain graduated in 2009 from Ball State with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He began his volleyball career as a stand-out athlete at Louisville’s Trinity High School. He and his wife, Lauren, were married in the spring of 2020 and have two sons, James and Louis.