As he heads into his seventh season as the head coach at Loyola University Chicago in 2017, Chris Muscat is poised to elevate the Ramblers into the top tier of teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. During his stay in Rogers Park, Muscat has produced seven all-conference performers, while seven others have earned all-newcomer or all-freshmen team recognition.
Last season, Muscat piloted the Ramblers to nine conference wins, matching their highest total since joining the MVC for the 2013 campaign. After going winless in five-set matches in 2015, Muscat guided his charges to a 6-2 record in contests that went the distance in 2016. Loyola knocked off a pair of Power 5 conference foes (Wake Forest and Mississippi State) and claimed the championship at the Demon Deacon Classic in September.
Morgan Reardon finished her career as one of the most decorated players in Loyola history, ranking fifth on the school's all-time chart with 1,386 kills. She became the first player in Rambler annals to be named First Team All-MVC and finished the season ranked second in the league with 3.52 kills per set. Gabi Maciagowski blossomed into a Second Team All-MVC selection under Muscat's tutelage in 2016, while Delilah Wolf and Quinn Spieker were named to the MVC All-Freshman Team.
Off the court, the women's volleyball squad was one of eight Loyola programs to receive a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA for having an outstanding (1,000) Academic Progress Rate (APR) score. Meanwhile, Reardon was tabbed as the recipient of the State Farm MVC Good Neighbor Award, and along with teammate Maddy Moser, was chosen First Team All-MVC Scholar-Athlete.
During the 2015 season, Muscat guided Loyola to a 20-12 overall record for the program's first 20-win seasons since 2004, while producing three Second Team All-MVC players in Reardon, Sami Hansen and Caroline Holt. With nine conference wins, Loyola racked up its highest total since joining the Valley, and during the non-conference portion of the schedule, Muscat led his team to three in-season tournament titles.
While taking a step up in class with the change of conference in 2013, Loyola's young core also helped the program take a step forward. With a roster featuring zero seniors, Loyola three upperclassmen helped its strong group of freshmen and sophomores mature into a team that was playing its best volleyball of the season at the end of the campaign.
Adding to that talented group was one of the most electrifying young players in the Valley, Morgan Reardon. Were it not for an injury that forced the freshman to miss 14 matches during MVC play, Reardon had a chance to shatter several freshman records. She reached double figures in kills in 13 of her 16 appearances and her 3.61 kills per set figure ranked third in the Valley. A three-time MVC Freshman of the Week honoree, Reardon returned to action for the last weekend of the MVC season and nearly helped inspire the Ramblers to a win at perennial powerhouse UNI that would have lifted Loyola into the Valley Tournament.
The 2012 campaign was a major turning point from a Loyola volleyball culture perspective. With a large, seven-person freshman class getting acclimated to the rigors of collegiate volleyball, Muscat and his staff brought in a pair of experienced transfers in Anna Eytchison and Nichole Riedel to provide stability and leadership. In addition to those two traits, the duo were also key contributors on the floor for a Loyola team that finished with a 17-12 record, a 13-match improvement over the previous year, tied for the biggest jump in Division I volleyball. Eytchison gave the team an immediate boost in firepower, ripping 21 kills in her first match and never looked back, finishing the season with 466 kills (4.31 kills per set), a Rambler single-season record in the rally scoring era and the highest by a Loyola player since Mary Just back in 1986. As a result, Eytchison earned All-Horizon League and Horizon League Newcomer of the Year honors and was one of a League-record four Ramblers (Brittany Brown, Stephanie Kinane and Kathleen Vogel) to earn spots on the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team.
Muscat came to Loyola after a successful two-year stint (2009-10) as an assistant coach at Missouri, as the Tigers rattled off 40 wins during his stint, culminating in the program's second Sweet 16 appearance. While on staff with the Tigers, Muscat was responsible for training the outside hitters and implementing the team's defensive and blocking schemes. Under Muscat's mentoring, Mizzou boasted one of the Big 12 Conference's toughest defenses, anchored by a front row that showed vast improvements in its blocking numbers during his two seasons and helping the team average a sterling 16.7 digs per set last season. Middle blocker Brittany Brimmage had a breakout season in 2010, ranking in the top 10 in the Big 12 with 1.09 blocks per set in conference matches, while serving as a perfect complement to outside hitter Paola Ampudia, who was honored by the coaches as a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team pick and AVCA All American. Ampudia averaged 4.14 kills per set and established herself as a dominant force blocking on the left side while freshman outside hitter Lisa Henning rounded out the potent left side attacking duo, earning Big 12 All-Freshman Team accolades after a terrific rookie season.
In addition to his on-court coaching, Muscat also served as the Tigers' recruiting coordinator, where he established himself with three nationally recognized classes. Missouri's class in 2009 was ranked 27th in the country by Prep Volleyball, while its 2010 class came in at No. 14 and the 2011 group also earned a top-30 ranking.
Muscat began his collegiate coaching career in 2007 at Stanford, where he spent two seasons on the bench with legendary coach John Dunning. While with the Cardinal, Muscat aided with practice planning, skill development and scouting. Those Stanford teams posted a record of 64-7 during his tenure, securing two Pac-10 Conference titles en route to advancing to the National Championship match both years.
He got into coaching after a successful playing career at UCLA, where he was a member of two national championship teams (1998, 2000) despite sitting out his final season due to injury. Upon graduation, Muscat remained active in the volleyball community, starting with a top position with the Bay to Bay Volleyball Club based in San Jose, Calif. During his five years with the club, Muscat coached eight players that went on to play Division I men's volleyball, three that continued their playing careers at the Division III level, and another that played for the USA Junior National team.
He transitioned to the women's game in 2005, procuring the head coaching job for Main Beach Volleyball Club out of Santa Cruz, Calif., and he helped the club to three top-five finishes in major tournaments while producing eight more Division I student-athletes.
Muscat graduated from UCLA in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and earned a Masters of Education/Preliminary Administrative Credential from San Jose State in 2006. He spent seven years teaching high school in the Bay Area before making the leap back into the collegiate game.
Still an active beach volleyball player, Muscat and his wife, Chrissy, have two children, Hannah and Ryan.
