Danielle Marante

Biography

Career Record: 96-73 (7 Seasons) Record at Asheville: 23-30 (2 Seasons) Danielle Marante begins her third season at the helm of the UNC Asheville volleyball program in 2026. In 2025, Marante led the Bulldogs to their first appearance in the Big South Conference Championship match since 2006. Although Asheville fell in the title match, the Bulldogs capped a resurgent postseason with back-to-back wins, including a statement upset of No. 1 seed Winthrop to advance to the championship. The Bulldogs closed the regular season with consecutive sweeps, highlighted by a sweep of Ingles I-26 Rival USC Upstate to secure the No. 4 seed in the Big South Tournament—the program’s highest regular-season finish since 2018. At the conclusion of the regular season, Michelle Thao was named Co-Libero of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference honors. Thao became the first player in program history to receive the Libero of the Year award and earned the program’s first major individual on-court award since 2000. Two additional Bulldogs were honored: Kylie Cackovic (Honorable Mention All-Conference) and Albertine van der Goot (Honorable Mention All-Conference and Academic All-Conference). With three honorees, Asheville recorded its most All-Conference selections since 2018. In Marante’s first season, the Bulldogs advanced to the Big South Conference Championship for the first time since 2019. After opening the year 0-2, Asheville rattled off seven straight wins, marking the program’s best 7-2