Carlos Chia is in his fourth season as the volleyball head coach at NKU. Chia, considered one of the top recruiters in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, was an assistant coach for the Norse for seven years before being named head coach in 2001.
Chia led NKU to a 26-12 overall record last season, and his Norse advanced to the championship match of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament. NKU - which won the GLVC regular-season title - featured AVCA first team All-American Kristin Koralewski, who was also named the 2003 GLVC Player of the Year.
Two years ago, Chia guided NKU to a 22-10 record and a second-place finish at the GLVC Tournament. Among the highlights in 2002 was Norse setter Sara Taylor, who finished No. 1 nationally in assists in NCAA Division II with an average of 13.82 assists per game. She became the first NKU player to ever lead the nation in that category.
Three years ago, Chia led NKU to a 28-5 record, and the Norse also captured their fifth consecutive GLVC championship. NKU, which featured 2001 GLVC Player of the Year Bethany Gastright, also advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the fifth straight season.
Chia earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors in 2001, and his team finished with a No. 17 ranking in the AVCA NCAA Division II poll. NKU also posted an unbeaten season (14-0) in the GLVC in 2001.
Chia is now 76-27 in three seasons as head coach at NKU. Since joining the NKU coaching staff in 1994, Chia has been a part of six GLVC championship teams. In 1998, the Norse won the Great Lakes Region title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
In 1999, the Norse advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four and ended with a national ranking of No. 2 - the highest rating in the program’s history.
Prior to coming to NKU, Chia served as a volleyball coach at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati and helped the team capture the 1991 district championship in southwest Ohio.
Chia was head coach at Thomas More College from 1988-90 and he also coached Junior Olympic volleyball for five years.
An avid volleyball player, Chia was a member of the 1972 Peruvian National Team that placed fourth at the first-ever South American Championships in Brazil.
