Azusa Pacific’s rise to national volleyball prominence has proven to be a challenging journey, but it should come as no surprise that the Cougars’ emergence as an NAIA volleyball power has taken place under fifth-year head coach Chris Keife. Never one to back down from a challenge, Keife seized the opportunity to take the helm at Azusa Pacific in 2004 and subsequently elevate the program into the NAIA’s elite.
The 32-year old Keife has demonstrated the touch of a seasoned coaching veteran, and his personality directly attests to the program’s recent success. He is intelligent about the game, utilizing an aggressive system of offense and defense that plays to various strengths of different athletes. The system has proven results, as he has posted 20 wins or more in each of his 5 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
His attention to detail is evident in his systematic approach and preparation for every match, every practice and with every potential recruit. When Keife sets his mind to something, he usually accomplishes it. Each of his characteristics plays a part in how he manages the current program and the focus on player development both on and off the court.
In just 4 seasons at the helm, Keife’s Cougar squads are executing at the program’s highest levels in over 20 years, posting some of the program’s highest per-game season averages in kills, assists, digs and aces, as well as the best passing percentage in program history. Nine All-GSAC selections have played under Keife over the past 4 seasons, with 6 earning NAIA All-American recognition.
No other Azusa Pacific volleyball coach had orchestrated 4 straight 20-win seasons or back-to-back NAIA Tournament appearances until Keife accomplished both over his first 4 campaigns. He is also the only Cougar mentor to post 4 straight winning conference records in the Golden State Athletic Conference, which has developed into the NAIA’s toughest volleyball conference. Three of the past 4 NAIA titles have been claimed by GSAC programs, and the 2007 national tournament featured an all-GSAC final four.
Thus, it was no small measure of respect Keife received from his conference coaching peers when he was named the 2005 GSAC Coach of the Year. That year, his squad registered 26 victories, the highest single-season win total for Azusa Pacific since 1991, and made its fifth NAIA Tournament in program history after notching a third-place GSAC finish with a 14-6 conference mark.
Consistency has become a signature characteristic of Keife-coached teams. His players have earned 7 NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete awards, reflecting the emphasis Keife places on his players’ complete development as student-athletes.
In 2004, his first season at Azusa Pacific, Keife led the Cougars to a 20-13 overall record and an 11-9 GSAC mark, good enough for the first of 3 straight top-4 conference finishes. In 2005, Azusa Pacific went 26-11 overall and claimed third place in the GSAC with a 14-6 conference mark, earning the program’s fifth NAIA Tournament appearance and its first since 2000. The Cougars’ 26 wins marked the highest single-season win total since 1991, a sum that included a pair of victories in national tournament pool play.
Despite losing 3 of the top 4 kill leaders from that 2005 squad, Keife still delivered a fourth-place GSAC finish in 2006, good enough to get the Cougars back to the NAIA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. In 2007, Keife navigated Azusa Pacific into the fifth spot of the final NAIA Coaches Poll with a 21-10 campaign, including a 12-8 mark in the GSAC. An improbable 5-game come-from-behind road win over the NAIA’s No. 7-ranked Point Loma Nazarene on Sept. 29, 2007, gave Keife his 100th career coaching victory in his 159th match as a head coach.
Keife came to Azusa Pacific after a 1-year stint at Hope International, where he orchestrated a stunning turnaround in his first collegiate head coaching assignment, guiding the Royals to their best season in school history in any sport, the first NAIA playoff appearance for any team in school history, along with the volleyball program’s first-ever winning campaign.
Prior to his season at Hope International, Keife was a 2-year (2001-02) volunteer assistant for nationally-respected head coach Mick Haley at NCAA Division I power University of Southern California, a stint that culminated in the Trojans’ 2002 NCAA National Championship.
Keife was also an assistant for 5 seasons at his alma mater Whittier Christian High (1996-2000), where he coached former Azusa Pacific players Jenna and Joelle Sagehorn, and he coached for 3 seasons (2000-02) in the Asics Nova Volleyball Club.
Keife, a 1999 Cal State Fullerton graduate who earned his master’s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific in December 2003, also teaches in the university’s department of Exercise & Sport Science. He and his wife, Becky, were married in 2005, and the couple resides in Chino Hills. They are expecting their first child in October.
