Kris Kern enters his sixth year as the Head Women’s Volleyball Coach at West Virginia State University in 2022.
An Ohio native, Kern has an extensive record of success coaching at the high school and club levels. His experience made an instant impact on the women’s volleyball program at WVSU when he joined in 2017.
The program took a leap forward in just his first season in charge as the Yellow Jackets went 14-16 overall, 6-10 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) after ending the previous year 6-22 overall, 3-13 in the MEC.
Kern’s second season in charge saw further improvement with the team reaching 25 wins to match a program record. The last time that the volleyball team concluded a season with a winning record was nearly a decade ago.
His third season at the helm marked even further progress for the WVSU volleyball program. The Yellow Jackets finished the regular season tied for second place in the league standings and won ten consecutive games at one point during the year. West Virginia State also made its first-ever appearance in the semifinals of the MEC Tournament during the 2019 season.
Kern holds the record for wins as a high school coach in the Buckeye state with a career mark of 762-82 and has received the All-Ohio State Coaches Achievement Award on three occasions.
Kern led Logan Elm High (Ohio) to the State Final Four in 2016, finishing with a 28-1 mark in his first year at the helm of what had previously been an unsuccessful program.
His teams have captured 19 conference titles, 33 sectional championships, 14 district crowns, and two regional titles. Kern also led a U-19 squad to a World Tournament championship.
He has previous college coaching experience at NCAA Division III Kenyon College (Ohio) where he spent two seasons.
Kern has a son, Connor, who played college basketball at The Citadel (S.C.).
Kris Kern's 2019 Volleyball Team
High School Coaching Career
1980-1991: Columbus Bishop Wherle
1991-1992: Pickerington
1994-2006: Lancaster
2006-2013: Pickerington North
2013-2015: Canal Winchester
2015-2016: Philo
2016-2017: Logan Elm
Overall H.S. Record: 762-82
COLLEGE
| Year |
Overall |
Conference |
| 2017 WVSU |
14-16 |
6-10 |
| 2018 WVSU |
25-11 |
10-6 |
| 2019 WVSU |
21-14 |
12-4 |
| 2020 WVSU |
10-2 |
9-1 |
| 2021 WVSU |
30-5 |
15-1 |
| TOTALS |
100-48 |
52-22 |
