Press Box: Doyle’s dynasty: Women’s volleyball spikes upwards
Illustration by Killian Goodale-Porter.
Malachi Keys, Contributing Writer
Tim Doyle took over as head coach of VCU’s volleyball program back in 2023, and after a rocky initial start to his first season, the team has not looked back, finishing the 2024 season 18-9.
Doyle was an assistant coach for the Rams during former VCU head coach Jody Rogers’ tenure from 2014-2017.
His VCU coaching earned him his first head coaching position at the College of William & Mary from 2018-2022 before his return to VCU in 2023.
Doyle took over VCU after they finished their previous season with a record of 14-17. In his first year, Doyle helped the team achieve a 17-13 record, according to VCU Athletics. However, it was not all sunshine and rainbows.
As one might expect, taking over for a long-tenured coach will come with some growing pains. Not only are there expectations to play up to a certain standard, but it can be challenging to manage a completely new roster. Doyle took up the challenge right away for the 2023 season.
The Rams started off their 2023 stint going with a 3-7 record, including a six-game losing streak in their first 10 games. Although VCU got off to a slow start in out-of-conference play, it was in-conference games where the black and gold truly cut their teeth.
The connection between the Rams’ defense and their offense contributed to a six-game win streak and a five-game win streak respectively towards the end of the season.
Doyle was bounced by Loyola University Chicago from the semifinal round of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament to end his first season with VCU.
This past season, the Rams had a significant roster turnover from the 2023 season.
Doyle recruited a considerable number of international players to come play for his program, notably first-year Italian hitter Lana Del Core and second-year Serbian libero Anja Kujundzic who have played vital roles in the 2024 campaign. It takes time to build cohesion between players from around the world who have learned the sport in different ways.
Del Core played in the Serie A last year and helped her team reach both the Serie A final and the Italian Cup final, according to VCU Athletics.
Kujundzic is a member of the Serbian National team and won the World U18 Championship in 2021, according to VCU Athletics.
Doyle has selected foreign players who have experience playing professionally and in high-stakes tournaments to join the black and gold and the results have shown on the court.
Again, the black and gold came out of the gates record-wise relatively slowly, but this time it was due to a tough slate of opponents to open the season.
The Rams, however, caught fire quickly and won 14 consecutive games to end the season and had a record of 16-2 in the conference — their best conference winning percentage since 2019.
One of coach Doyle’s philosophies is that he likes to test the waters in the beginning of games to see how his opponents react to his strategies. This philosophy is a microcosm of how it seems that VCU’s seasons have gone; they test the waters before asserting their dominance in the latter parts of the season.
Doyle and his squad rolled with his winning streak all the way back to the semifinals of the A-10 tournament in 2024 where his team lost once again to Loyola Chicago.
There is no doubt that Doyle has done an exceptional job coaching this VCU team, showing steady improvement from year to year. If the last two seasons are any indication of the trajectory of where VCU volleyball is headed under Doyle’s tutelage, fans should be in for a treat in 2025.
