Right from the get-go, Chris Johnson and Falcons volleyball clicked.
In 11 years at the Seattle Pacific reins, Johnson has built a 181-119 record, won four GNAC championships, qualified five times for the NCAA Division II tournament, and played for the 2010 West Regional championship. His overall record includes a school-best 26-3 in 2010, a year in which he also picked up his 100th collegiate coaching victory -- all with the Falcons.
It also includes a four-game victory in Bellingham against No. 8-ranked Western Washington on Oct. 24, 2013. That was the 500th win in program history.
In fact, not only is Johnson getting to coach his favorite sport at a high level, he’s getting to do it close to home. He grew up in Bellevue and is a graduate of Interlake High School. Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree in art from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., and also played volleyball there for three years. Altogether, he has five years of playing experience at the collegiate club level.
In 2004, Johnson joined the SPU program under then-head coach Kellie Ryan, and took over as head coach the following season. Prior to that, he had gone from player to coaching aide at Westmont, filling that role for three seasons.
Like coaches everywhere, Johnson emphasizes hard work and patience – among other things – to his Seattle Pacific players. The message has been heard. When his 2011 team earned a bid to the NCAAs, it marked the first time in program history that the Falcons had gone to the tournament three straight years.
It was in Johnson’s inaugural season at the helm in 2005 that SPU won its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship, returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years, and attained its then highest national ranking, finishing at No. 18. That was bettered significantly in 2010 when the Falcons finished No. 13 in the final rankings
In 2006, Johnson guided the Falcons through the GNAC schedule undefeated on the way to the 24-3 finish (.889), which at that time was a school record.
But the program's silver anniversary in 2010 was the one during which the record books were rewritten. Johnson's team won its first 16 matches (the previous best start was 7-0), went 14-2 in the GNAC, was the No. 2 seed for the West Regionals, and won the first NCAA postseason matches in school history. The Falcons beat Cal State Los Angeles in the first round and conference rival Western Washington in the semifinals. When it was all over, SPU had gone 26-3 for an .897 winning percentage.
Johnson was named the GNAC Co-Coach of the Year in 2005, 2006, 2010. In 2011, he was the sole recipient of the conference coaching honor.
To e-mail Coach Johnson: vbchris@spu.edu
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