Cougar Athletics
30 NAIA National Championships
95 GSAC Championships
...and counting

ckeife@apu.edu

Chris Keife is in his fourth season as head coach of Azusa Pacific volleyball. In just 3 seasons, Keife has already accomplished something no other Cougar volleyball coach has done, taking Azusa Pacific to back-to-back NAIA Tournaments for the first time in program history.

Keife has guided the Cougars to a 68-37 overall record during his first 3 seasons, making NAIA Region II Playoff appearances all 3 years. Keife was named the 2005 Golden State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after returning Azusa Pacific to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since 2000. After back-to-back national tournament appearances, the future of Cougar volleyball shines brightly with a young, talented 2007 squad.

In 2006, Keife faced the unenviable task of replacing 3 of his top 4 kill leaders from the previous season, but he still delivered a fourth-place finish in the NAIA’s toughest volleyball conference. The GSAC has sent a representative to the NAIA title match in each of the past 4 seasons, and conference rivals Fresno Pacific and California Baptist have accounted for 3 of the past 4 NAIA championships.

Keife inherited a program that Gerry Gregory rebuilt after it had fallen on hard times. In spite of its rich tradition, which included winning the NAIA’s first-ever national championship in 1980, the Cougar program had virtually slipped off the map since its last postseason appearance in 1994. In his 6 seasons, Gregory guided the Cougars to 4 straight winning seasons as well as 3 consecutive 20-win seasons and an appearance in the 2000 NAIA Tournament. However, since that 2000 season, the Cougars failed to get back to the tournament in 3 straight seasons, including 2003 when Azusa Pacific finished under .500 in conference play and did not reach the postseason for the first time since 1999.

In his first season at Azusa Pacific, Keife led the Cougars back into the postseason with the first of 3 straight top-4 conference finishes, posting a 20-13 overall record. In 2005, the Cougars returned to the NAIA Tournament for the fifth time in program history after notching a third-place GSAC finish with a 14-6 conference mark. Keife’s squad registered 26 wins overall, the highest single-season win total for Azusa Pacific since 1991, including a pair of wins in national tournament pool play.

A 1999 graduate of Cal State Fullerton, Keife spent the 2003 season as the head coach at GSAC member Hope International in Fullerton, Calif. In his first-ever head coaching assignment, as well as his lone season at Hope International, Keife orchestrated what has to be considered the biggest turnaround in GSAC volleyball history.

Keife took over a Royal program that had gone a combined 15-100 overall and 1-75 in conference-play since joining the GSAC in 1999. He inherited virtually the same team that went 7-23 overall, 0-20 in the GSAC in 2002, and in his one season at the helm, Keife guided the Royals to their best season in school history in any sport, setting several school records in the process.

He led the Royals to a 20-18 overall record, which marked their first winning campaign in school history. The Royals finished 9-11 in GSAC play, which was good for a fifth place finish and a spot in the NAIA Region II Playoffs, marking the first NAIA playoff appearance for any team in school history.

Prior to his season at Hope International, Keife spent 2 seasons (2001-02) as a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA Division I power University of Southern California under the direction of nationally-respected head coach Mick Haley. He was part of a staff that led the Trojans to the 2002 NCAA National Championship.

Keife was also an assistant for 5 seasons at his alma mater Whittier Christian High, where he coached former Azusa Pacific players Jenna and Joelle Sagehorn. In his time at Whittier Christian, the Heralds became the first girls’ team in school history to win a CIF championship when they captured the 2000 title. They also won the 2000 Olympic League championship and advanced to the CIF quarterfinals in 1999. From 1998-2000, Keife also assisted with the boys’ program, leading the Heralds to a 1999 CIF Semifinal appearance.

In addition to his collegiate and high school coaching, Keife was also an active coach for 3 seasons (2000-02) in the Asics Nova Volleyball Club. As the head coach for the Girl’s Under-16 division, Keife made 2 consecutive appearances in the U.S. Junior Olympics and had 2 different teams ranked in the top 10 of the SCVA.

Keife, who earned his master’s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific in December 2003, also teaches in the university’s Exercise & Sport Science department. He and his wife, Becky, were married in 2005, and they reside in Chino Hills.