Ben Duckworth is entering his fifth season as the assistant coach of the Lindenwood men’s volleyball team in 2022.
In the 2021 season, Duckworth helped instruct second-team All-MIVA selections A.J. Lewis and Diego Negron, as well as 16 Academic All-MIVA honorees. The Lions were one of the best blocking teams in the MIVA during the season, finishing third with 2.37 per set. In the classroom, 16 student-athletes compiled Academic All-MIVA honors.
The season was shortened in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two players received All-MIVA honors under the assistance of Duckworth, as Diego Negron and Sam Schindler both were named first-team All-MIVA selections.
In 2019, the Lions fell to No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne in the MIVA Tournament. Under the tutelage of Duckworth, four different Lindenwood student-athletes earned All-MIVA honors for the season, including seniors Adam Brewster and Connor Hipelius being named to the second team.
In 2018, Duckworth helped the team to a four-match improvement from the previous season. The 2018 squad posted 9.24 digs per set, second for a single-season in the NCAA-era of Lindenwood men’s volleyball. Individually, libero Ryan Vorderer collected 242 digs, a Lindenwood NCAA record.
Prior to Lindenwood, Duckworth was the assistant coach for the McKendree men’s and women’s volleyball programs. He helped start the men’s team in 2013 alongside women’s head coach Nickie Sanlin. Duckworth helped the men’s team to multiple double-digit win seasons, as well as two second-team All-MIVA selections, and five honorable mention honorees. The women’s squad secured 20 or more wins multiple times with Duckworth’s assistance, and reached the 2014 NCAA Division II Tournament, as well as competed in the GLVC Championship twice. Duckworth helped to recruit one Conference Player of the Year, one Freshman of the Year, two All-Region selections, and three first-team All-Conference performers.
Duckworth has spent time with USA Volleyball as a high performance coach. He was an assistant coach for the A1 Select Boys Group at the USA High Performance Championships, and was also the head coach of the A2 Select Girls Camp, an assistant coach for the A3 Select Boys Camp, and an apprentice coach for the A3 Future Select Girls Camp. Duckworth was the head coach of St. Louis High Performance Volleyball Club from 2006-2013. He had two top 10 finishes at the USA Volleyball Junior Nationals.
From 2006-2009, Duckworth was a player for Fort Wayne University, and he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2017. He was once a second-team All-Conference selection, and he was a member of the 2007 team which won the MIVA Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Division I-II National Championship match. Duckworth is third all-time in single-season aces at the school, and holds the school mark for most aces in a match.
Duckworth, a St. Louis, Mo. native, was a three-time All-Conference player at Oakville High School. He earned all-Metro honors twice, and was the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Player of the Year in 2006. Duckworth also played three seasons for the St. Louis High Performance program. He currently resides in St. Charles, Mo. with his wife, Alli, an assistant coach with the Lindenwood women’s volleyball team.
