Elon University Athletics

Karlis Dunens (pronounced Car-lis Dune-ens) is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Elon University volleyball program in 2018. Dunens started with the Phoenix in January 2016 after serving as a volunteer assistant at the University of Memphis. Dunens works primarily with the team’s defense while also coordinating team travel and assisting with recruiting efforts.

Elon’s 2016 season saw a resurgence of sorts with the Phoenix posting an 18-15 record while Tendler earned her 200th victory in a sweep of North Carolina A&T on August 30. Hosting four teams for the Elon Phoenix Classic Sept. 8 and 9, Elon defeated all four opponents on the way to winning the tournament. The run helped the Phoenix to a season-long winning streak of nine matches from Sept. 3-16. Four players were named CAA Players of the Week throughout the season and Sydney Busa picked up CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and Third Team All-CAA honors at season’s end.  

The run continued in 2017 when Elon made its first appearance in the CAA Tournament with a 16-16 record on the year to go with five CAA wins, the most for the program since joining the conference. In the first round of the tournament, the Phoenix took eventual champion James Madison to five sets on the Dukes' home floor, but fell short in the end with a 28-30, 25-13, 25-21, 23-25, 15-9 loss. With 518 kills on the year - the most in the CAA and the 18th-most in the nation - Busa was named a First Team All-CAA honoree after the regular season while repeating as CoSIDA Academic All-District, and during the season became the fourth player in program history to join the 1,000-kill and 1,000-dig club. Newcomer Kodi Garcia was tabbed the CAA's Rookie of the Year after posting 1,279 assists, which tied for the second-most assists in a season in program history and the most since Elon became a Division I program. 

During the 2015 season, Dunens served as a volunteer assistant coach at Memphis, helping the team to a 19-14 overall record. While with the Tigers, he was responsible for training the middle blockers, coordinating blocking schemes and strategies and scouting opposing offenses.
 
Prior to Memphis, Dunens was an assistant volleyball coach at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, from 2011-15. He trained five All-America selections and 11 all-conference selections while with the Pirates, coaching the team to the NCAA DIII first round in 2011 and 2012 and to the second round in 2013. The Pirates went a combined 107-37 in his four years as an assistant.
 
Dunens spent the 2010 season as an assistant coach at the University of Houston, helping coach the team to a 19-13 record, which was a 10-win improvement from the previous season. That season UH had two players earn first team all-conference honors. With the Cougars, he helped train players during practices and served as the team’s video, travel and camp coordinator.
 
Dunens moved to Houston after spending two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Jacksonville State. In 2009, he helped guide the Gamecocks to a 27-8 record, an Ohio Valley Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Championships, while five members of the squad earned postseason honors. During his two seasons with the Gamecocks, Dunens also planned and organized the program’s volleyball camps.
 
Prior to Jacksonville State, Dunens was a manager and volunteer assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2006-2008. With the Aggies, he assisted with drills during practice and was in charge of the team and scouting videos.
 
Dunens played volleyball as a member of the Texas A&M club team before serving as the coach from 2006-2008. In addition, he was the women's volleyball club coach from 2003-2005.
 
A native of Houston, Dunens graduated from Texas A&M in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in electronics engineering technology.
 

Coaching Experience
2008-09	Graduate Assistant Coach, Jacksonville State University
2010	Assistant Coach, University of Houston
2011-14	Assistant Coach, Southwestern University
2015	Volunteer Assistant Coach, University of Memphis
2016-Present	Assistant Coach, Elon University