Ryan Genova enters his seventh season as an assistant men's volleyball coach at Arcadia University.
In 2020, the Knights played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, as the squad took on several top-15 teams in the nation and were ranked 10th in the nation by AVCA entering the year. Arcadia produced an 11-10 overall record and a 3-2 mark in conference contests before the MAC canceled the remainder of spring seasons on March 16. Despite the season being cut short, senior Austin Braas led all of NCAA Division III in hitting percentage for the second-consecutive season en route to earning AVCA All-East Region and First-team All-America honors.
The 2019 men's season was a banner year as the squad won the MAC Championship for the first time in program history, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The Championship was won on the arm of Austin Brass, who named the first All-American in school history. As a team, a program-best five Knights were selected to the All-MAC teams, including freshman Dan Paraskevov, who was honored as the Rookie of the Year, the first Knight ever to take home one of the MAC's major awards.
As an outside hitter at Juniata College, a Division I program during his collegiate career, Genova was named a Division I All East/All-EIVA member in 2003 and was then named an AVCA Division III All-American in 2004, while leading the Eagles to a national championship. He was named an EIVA Division III All-Star (2003-04), and finished his career as one of the program’s all-time leaders in aces (114) and rally-era kills (1,178).
Genova went on to play in the professional ranks from 2004-07, playing in Spain, Portugal, the Republic of Maldives, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Israel.
In 2008, Genova gave up his volleyball career to teach English in Indonesia. After returning to the States, Genova graduated Magna Cum Laude from Millersville University in 2012, earning a master’s degree with a concentration in English as a Second Language.
He remains an active competitor in the sport, playing in semi-pro grass events over the summer months.
