Ferris State's Christa Cooper Chosen As AVCA Thirty Under 30 National Award Recipient

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Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University women's volleyball assistant coach Christa (Jung) Cooper, who helped lead FSU to its third-straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship last fall, has been chosen as a 2017 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 Award recipient.

The AVCA Thirty Under 30 Award was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport. To qualify for the award, nominees had to be 30 years old or younger in 2016.

This year, the organization received a record number of nominees and Cooper was one of only three NCAA Division II coaches recognized by the national office. She was the lone representative from a GLIAC or Midwest Region school last fall. Overall, of the 30 coaches honored, 12 were NCAA Division I honorees with five at the high school/club level, four in NCAA Division III along with three in both D2 and two-year schools. The NAIA, NCCAA and USCAA levels each had one.

"The young talent in volleyball coaching is just outstanding," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer, who's a former Ferris State Volleyball head coach. "As exciting as these 30 award winners is the fact that almost 200 young coaches were nominated for consideration. It's a good time to be a volleyball coach!"

In her three seasons as FSU's top assistant coach under longtime head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, Cooper has helped the Bulldogs win three-straight GLIAC regular season and tournament championships and twice reach the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen. The team has also been ranked high nationally throughout her tenure, including as high as #1 for the first time in school history, and the Bulldogs have compiled a 87-15 overall record, including a 50-3 conference record. 

While at Ferris State, Cooper has helped coach six All-America players in three seasons along with 15 all-conference selections, eight all-region choices & two regional players of the year. As the team's defensive coordinator, FSU has twice ranked among the top six in the country in opponents hitting percentage & placed in the top 35 all three years. She also has recruited the GLIAC & Midwest Region Freshman of the Year who earned All-America honors.

"I believe this award is a reflection of all of the people who have supported, coached, and mentored me in my career as a player and a coach," Cooper said. "From my parent's example of true faith, selflessness and work ethic, to my current boss and mentor in Coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm who has taught me so much about volleyball and life beyond the court, and who challenges me to be a better coach every day. 

"As is the case with most individual awards, there is a team of people behind the success," she added. "To those people who have influenced every step of the way, I am forever grateful."

In her first season with the Bulldogs in 2014, Cooper helped FSU claim the GLIAC's regular season and tournament titles while making an NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal appearance. Then, in 2015, Cooper helped the Bulldogs vault to number one in the nation for the first time in school history. FSU finished with a 33-3 overall record, boasting the nation's highest winning percentage, won the prestigious Colorado Premier Challenge title, and claimed both the GLIAC Regular-Season and Tournament Championships. The Bulldogs also hosted the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament and earned runner-up honors. 

This past fall, in 2016, FSU won a third-straight league regular-season and tourney crown while hosting the regional and reaching the D2 Sweet Sixteen for the second-straight campaign.
Cooper, who played collegiately in the GLIAC at Michigan Tech University, most recently had served as a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA Division I Montana State prior to her FSU appointment.

An Andover, Minn., native, Cooper joined the Montana State staff after three years as a Division II assistant coach at the University of Mary (N.D.). In her short tenure at Montana State, she gained experience coaching at the NCAA's largest level and assisted with practice planning, skill development, travel arrangements and more during the spring campaign.

Prior to Montana State, Cooper served from 2011-13 on the Division II level at the University of Mary. She began her stint with the Marauders as a graduate assistant and was involved with nearly all phases of the program in her three seasons, including scouting, recruiting, film breakdown, practice planning, skill development, budget, travel and equipment. Additionally, she gained experienced as the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) advisor for two years.

In addition to serving as the Marauders' assistant coach, Cooper also was the creator and club director of the North Dakota Premier Volleyball Club in Bismarck from 2011-13. As the director, she managed tryouts, budgeting, tournament organization and oversaw coaches along with serving as a head coach.

Cooper began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach on the NCAA Division III level at St. Catherine (Minn.) University in 2010 where she worked primarily with blockers and assisted in the recruiting duties as the Wildcats qualified for the conference tournament for the first time in over 16 years. Also, she was a coach with the Minnesota Premier and Minnesota Select club teams with her Select team finishing in the top 20 at the AAU National Tournament. Prior to her appointment at St. Catherine, she worked as a college campus recruiter for the North Star Resource Group in St. Paul, Minn. 

Cooper graduated Magna Cum Laude from Michigan Tech in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a minor in coaching. A two-time team captain and four-year letterwinner, Cooper led the Huskies to two NCAA Division II Regional Tournament appearances and three GLIAC Tournament bids as a student-athlete. She also helped MTU lead the nation in blocks during her collegiate career. 

Off the court, Cooper was president of Blue Key Honor Society, a member of the Michigan Tech SAAC organization along with being the Psychology Department representative on the Student Commission Board at MTU. The standout was nominated for MTU's President's Leadership Award in 2008-09. She received a master's degree in Strategic Leadership at the University of Mary.

The 30-year old Cooper has a husband, Gary, and is the daughter of Greg and Teresa Jung. She also has four siblings.