Christa Cooper joined the Dayton volleyball staff in late March of 2023 and will be in her third year on staff for the 2025 season.
Tasked as the Flyers' defensive coordinator, Cooper has helped Dayton become the top defense in the Atlantic 10 in her time in the Gem City. UD had the fifth-best opponent attack percentage in the entire NCAA in 2024, holding opponents to .142 on the campaign, and has led the A-10 in defensive hitting efficiency each of the last two seasons.
Cooper comes to Dayton after three seasons as head coach of Division II New Haven where she tallied a total of 54 wins. She led the Chargers to 16 wins in 2022 with three players earning All-Conference honors, led by sophomore Macy Brown who earned NE10 First Team distinction for the second time. In 2019 and 2021, the Chargers earned to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Championship field (2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19).
Prior to New Haven, Cooper spent five seasons as an assistant at Ferris State. She helped lead the Ferris State Bulldogs to five straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular season and tournament championships and five appearances in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional, including advancing to the championship game in back-to-back seasons. Overall during her tenure at Ferris State, the Bulldogs collected a record of 138-28 (.831), including a mark of 79-6 (.929) in the GLIAC.
Before to her appointment at Ferris State in 2014, Cooper spent a short time as a volunteer assistant coach at Division I Montana State. 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.). Originally joining the staff at Mary as a graduate assistant, Cooper 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.
She began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach on the 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.
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, she led the Huskies to two NCAA Division II Regional Tournament appearances and three GLIAC Tournament bids. Additionally, the right side helped Michigan Tech lead the nation in blocks during her senior campaign, finishing the season second on the team with 92.
