Coastal Carolina University Athletics

CJ Allard joined the Coastal Carolina University athletics department in June of 2017 as an assistant for both the Coastal Carolina indoor and beach volleyball teams. His main responsibilities include scouting and working with the defensive specialists and middle blockers.

In a unique 2020-21 academic year that saw the nation deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coastal women's indoor volleybal team finished the 2020 fall season ranked No. 14 nationally in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Fall Top 15 Coaches Poll after going 18-1 overall and a perfect 16-0 in conference play on the year. The Sun Belt Conference East Division Champions were in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll in each of the final three weeks of the season, climbing as high as No. 12 on Nov. 18.

Coastal set a new program record by starting the season with 18-straight wins, surpassing the previous record-start of 9-0 in 2019, before falling in the 2020 Sun Belt Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament championship match in five sets to Texas State.

The 2020 team led the Sun Belt in aces per set (1.68), hitting percentage (.276), and opponent hitting percentage (.116) and ranked third overall in the league in blocks per set (2.36). Individually, sophomore setter Brigitta Petrenko led the conference and ranked 19th nationally in aces per set at 0.51, and was tops in the league in service aces with 31 on the year. Fellow Chant Anett Nemeth was the conference leader in kills per set (4.44) and points per set (5.12), which both ranked in the top-15 overall nationally.

For the second-straight season, Nemeth picked up All-Amercia honors, as the junior was named a 2020-21 VolleyballMag.com third-team All-American and an AVCA honorable mention All-American, while also picking up AVCA All-Region accolades again. With her honors in 2020, Nemeth became the first Chanticleer volleyball student-athlete to earn All-America recognition twice (2019 and 2020).
 
Nemeth was also tabbed the 2020 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and 2020 Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and garnered first-team All-Sun Belt honors for the third-straight year. Fellow Chants Ani Bozdeva and  Brigitta Petrenko joined Nemeth as first-team All-Sun Belt selections, while Lina Perugini selected second-team all-conference.

In 2020, the Sandy Chants were off to a 10-2 start to the season and receiving votes in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Coaches Poll. The Chants recorded a season-high five-match winning streak and posted the program's first-ever wins over the College of Charleston and Mercer before the season was abruptly canceled by the NCAA and the ASUN due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2019, the women’s indoor volleyball team won the Sun Belt East Division with a conference record of 13-3 and earned a spot in the Sun Belt Championship match where they Chants fell to the Texas State Bobcats in four sets to finish the season at 24-6 overall.

Coastal had three players including Brigitta Petrenko, Kyla Manning, and Anett Nemeth earn Sun Belt honors during the regular season and postseason. Manning won her second consecutive first-team All-Sun Belt honor, while freshman Petrenko was tabbed the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, only the Chanticleers' second-ever selection. The Coastal Carolina setter also earned eight conference weekly awards including four freshman of the week and four setter of the week honors. Sophomore Anett Nemeth racked up multiple awards throughout the season including, the program's first-ever AVCA All-American selection, earning fourth-team honors. Nemeth was also named AVCA All-Region, Sun Belt Player of the Year, Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, All-Sun Belt first team, Sun Belt All-Tournament Team, and a four-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week. Nemeth's season also saw her reach the 30-kill mark four times, including breaking CCU’s single-match record with 33 kills on Dec. 2 versus Troy.

The 2019 Chanticleers finished the season third in the NCAA with 1.99 aces per set and 10th in the nation with a .286 hitting percentage. In conference play, CCU was first in hitting percentage and aces per set, second in assists at 12.39 per set, third in opponents assists as they held their competitors to 10.65 per set, second in kills per set with 13.24, first with 2.28 blocks per set, 1.72 blocks per set was good for second, and second in the conference as they held their opponents to 12.26 digs per set.

Allard helped lead Coastal's young beach program to unprecedented heights during the 2019 spring campaign. In only its fourth season of existence, the CCU beach volleyball program recorded its first 20-win season, finishing the spring slate with a 21-11 overall record. The Chants also went unbeaten in ASUN Conference matches with a mark of 8-0 to claim the ASUN North Division title. Coastal further set history in the 2019 ASUN Championship, winning its first conference tournament matches with shutouts of Austin Peay (5-0) and North Alabama (3-0). Allard played a major role in the development of two young student-athletes, assisting Lucy Campbell and Anett Nemeth to ASUN All-Freshman honors. Kalin Eske and Nemeth continued to rack up honors after the season was over, receiving the AVCA Top Flight Award.

Allard helped construct one of the Sun Belt's better defensive units during the 2018 indoor season. The Chants ranked second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.181), fourth in digs per set (15.71), and sixth in blocks per set (2.18). Coastal also boasted the Sun Belt's Defensive Player of the Year in defensive specialist Sydney Alvis. Also an All-Sun Belt first team selection, Alvis racked up Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors three times during the regular season. Coastal finished second in the Sun Belt East Division following an 11-5 conference record and went 12-13 on the season overall.

In Allard's first indoor season at Coastal in 2017, the Chants won their fourth consecutive conference championship (including their second-straight Sun Belt Conference tournament title), made their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, and had their fourth consecutive season of at least 20 overall wins. The Chants also captured the Sun Belt regular-season championship in 2017 with a near-perfect 15-1 conference record. Under Allard's direction, Coastal boasted one of the best defenses in the Sun Belt, ranking among the top-four teams in opponent hitting percentage, blocks, and digs. Additionally, junior defensive specialist Sydney Alvis was voted an All-Sun Belt selection.

Prior to Coastal Carolina, Allard spent two seasons at UNC Greensboro. With the Spartans, Allard worked primarily with the defensive unit while assisting with the outside hitters and in-game serving strategy. 

In 2016 at UNCG, Allard and the Spartans posted an 18-13 (11-5 Southern Conference) record to earn the program's highest seed going into the SoCon Tournament. Through his work with the defense and outside hitters, Allard helped UNCG earn four All-SoCon honors and coached Christina Gregory to SoCon Libero of the Year honors. Allard and his defenders finished the season ranked seventh in the nation in digs per set, while the Spartans also held top-10 national rankings in total digs and attacks per set. 

In his first season at UNCG in 2015, Allard guided three Spartans to All-SoCon honors and helped Katherine Santiago win SoCon Libero of the Year. 

Allard had a brief stint as an assistant coach with the boy's volleyball team at Roncalli High School, which went 29-5, reached the state championship, and was ranked as high as second in the state of Indiana. He was also the head coach of the boy's 18-2 Munciana club team in 2013-14. 

Allard graduated from Ball State, where he was a four-year manager for the women's volleyball team. His duties included daily setup of team practices and initiating drills, while also working extensively with the DataVolley program in order to break down film.

While at Ball State he was also the men's volleyball play-by-play announcer and host of a weekly talk show with head coach Joel Walton, former coach Dr. Don Shondell, and various student-athletes throughout the season. Allard was named the National Collegiate Reporter of the Year in 2013 and was tabbed the play-by-play broadcaster of the year by Off the Block -- a website specializing in coverage of men's collegiate volleyball. He was part of the same publication's broadcasting team of the year in 2012 and 2013, as well as the Ball State radio station WCRD's Freshman of the Year.