CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia volleyball head coach Shannon Wells announced the promotion of Trevor Kennan as one of the program’s assistant coaches and the addition of Shai Bloom as the Cavaliers’ volunteer technical coordinator on Wednesday (Aug. 2).

Kennan returns to Virginia in 2023 after serving as the Cavaliers’ volunteer assistant coach last season. In his new role, Kennan is primarily responsible for training UVA’s defensive specialists and liberos and managing its serve-receive formations. Additionally, he will assist with the Cavaliers’ recruiting efforts, team camps, practice players and team managers. Kennan was a defensive specialist and outside hitter at George Mason from 2018-22, where he earned his degree in sport management with a minor in coaching.

“Trevor has had a major impact in our program over the last year as a volunteer assistant,” said Wells. “He’s a perfect fit for UVA and our program because he cares about our student-athletes as people, is a life-long learner, lives life with joy and appreciation, and works extremely hard. Our staff and team are beyond excited to retain Trevor as a full-time assistant coach at UVA.”

Bloom comes to UVA after a one-year stint at Dominican University (River Forest, Ill.), where he served as the Chargers’ assistant coach. As Virginia’s volunteer technical coordinator, Bloom maintains the Cavaliers’ data analytics and assists with the compilation of scouting reports. Prior to his stop at Dominican, Bloom served as head coach of Garden State Elite Volleyball Club (GSEVC) for its 15-Black team. He was also a volunteer assistant coach at Felician University (Rutherford, N.J.) for one season. Bloom graduated magna cum laude with an economics degree from George Washington in 2022, where he was a seven-time Dean’s List recipient. While at GW, Bloom played libero for the Colonials’ men’s club team and a served as practice player for their Division I women’s volleyball program.

“Shai is a great addition to our program. He aspires to be one of the best technical coordinators in the country and re-invent the way our sport uses data analytics. This position is a gamechanger for our program and will allow us to create annual training plans, enhance our scouting reports, and provide detailed insights to our student-athletes to help them better understand their own game. We are very excited for him to get to work with our program this fall.”

Virginia opens its 2023 season by hosting the Cavalier Classic (Aug. 25-26) in Memorial Gymnasium after holding its Blue vs. Orange scrimmage next Saturday (Aug. 12) at noon. FULL SCHEDULE

Admission to all 2023 home Virginia volleyball regular-season matches in Mem Gym is free to the public.

Broadcast designations, including matches on ACC Network, will post to VirginiaSports.com once announced by the ACC and ESPN. Start times are subject to change based on broadcast selections.