Chris Krueger was hired in May 2019 as the D'Youville men's volleyball head coach, returning to his alma mater where he spent four years as a student-athlete.
Krueger took over at D'Youville after coachingstops at Division III Hilbert College and Division I Canisius College.
The Hamburg, N.Y., native spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Canisius Golden Griffins as their women's volleyball assistant coach. Of his primary responsibilities, Krueger worked with the outside hitters and middle blockers, developed scouting reports, and implemented the use of analytics. Krueger's first year on Main Street saw the Blue and Gold have a three-win improvement as Krueger helped develop Sara Wesley into an All-MAAC selection at outside hitter.
A shortened spring season in 2021 gave Krueger and the D'Youville men's volleyball program their first taste of Division II competition as a member of the East Coast Conference. Kruegar guided the Saints to three straight set victories, one over Medaille on March 9, and two against Carlow on March 27.
The 2018 season included Canisius matching the program record for conference victories as the Griffs finished second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings and advanced their first-ever MAAC championship match appearance. With Krueger's tutelage, the team had a school-record .252 hitting percentage during the 2018 season. In addition, the team had six players selected to All-MAAC teams while Sofia Lopez Acosta earned MAAC Libero of the Year and All-ECAC honors.
Prior to his time at Canisius, Krueger spent three seasons (2015-17) leading the men's volleyball program at Hilbert, taking on the head coaching role for the women's program as well in 2015 and 2016. Under Krueger, the Hawks garnered nine all-conference selections from the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, while his teams were also honored with 17 Academic All-AMCC selections.
The 2016 Hilbert men's team set new program records in overall and conference wins, matching the number of conference victories the program had amassed over the previous ten seasons as well as ranking top-10 nationally in digs per set (10.39). During Krueger's first campaign at the helm in 2015, Korey Schwab won the AVCA DIII National Player of the Week award, marking the first time a volleyball player had earned that honor in Hilbert's history. Academically, the team received national recognition as one of eleven NCAA men's volleyball programs to receive the AVCA Team Academic Award in 2015-2016 for achieving a cumulative team GPA of greater than 3.3.
In his playing days at D'Youville, Krueger tallied 702 career kills, finishing fourth in program history. He also ranks fourth all-time in matches played (358) and fifth in total blocks (208) in addition to being a two-year captain. Playing outside hitter and middle blocker for the Red and Black, Krueger was a two-time AMCC Second Team All-Conference selection.
Krueger graduated from D'Youville with his bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science in 2013. He resides in Buffalo, N.Y., with his wife Sarah, a fellow D'Youville alumnus and current assistant coach for the Saints' softball program.
