Chris Toomey enters his sixth year as head coach of the Lady Tornado volleyball team after being an assistant from 1993-2006. His love for volleyball began as a child and he began playing on men's club teams when he as a high school sophomore where his passion has led him to his calling as a collegiate coach.

Under Toomey's leadership, the Lady Tornado have enjoyed great amounts of success at the NAIA and NCAA levels as the College transitioned into becoming a permanent Division II member school. While head coach, Toomey has led his team to three conference tournament championships - continuing a streak of 13 in a row started back in 1997- one conference regular season championship, a national tournament appearance, two NCCAA regional runner-up finishes and two NCCAA national tournament appearances in addition to many more accolades.

Through his first three seasons at the helm of the program, he compiled an 84-36 record and a .700 winning percentage, leading to his current overall record of 116-47 (.710) and an Appalachian Athletic Conference record of 32-4 (.889). In 2010, Toomey gained entry into the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) 100-Win Club with a 3-0 win over Bluefield State.

In Toomey’s first season as head coach, he led his team to a 25-14 overall mark and second place in the AAC, finishing 15-3 (.833) en route to winning the conference tournament. He followed up a successful debut with his best season as a coach winning 75 percent of all games, finishing 30-10 overall and losing only one league contest in 18 matches. He led his team to a first place regular season conference finish that year and helped win the program’s 12^th straight AAC Tournament. That year, the Tornado earned an invitation to the NAIA National Tournament and Toomey was named the AAC Coach of the Year.

Between the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Toomey had eight AAC All-Conference selections and four All-Region student-athletes under his tutelage. While King was a member of the NCCAA, he had nine players named to the All-Region team and four to the NCCAA All-American team, including current assistant coach, Rachel Harding. His teams have been named an All-Academic Team by the AVCA three times (2007, 2008, 2010).

In 2011, Toomey led his team to its first postseason appearance after completing the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Following a 13-5 league record in its first season as a member of Conference Carolinas, the Lady Tornado advanced to the conference tournament and rattled off a come-from-behind, five-set victory on the road against Mount Olive College for the College’s first postseason tournament win since joining Division II and Conference Carolinas. Toomey watched three of his players be named to the All-Conference Team and one to the All-Tournament Team.

Toomey has had the opportunity of playing volleyball internationally while on sport evangelism trips in Germany, Costa Rica, Brazil, Nicaragua and Austria. In addition to serving on international mission trips, Toomey has also served domestically in New York City. He served as the director of the Tri-Cities Juniors Volleyball Club and has been the head clinician at the King College volleyball camps for the past eight years. In addition, he has been a camp clinician at over 35 high school camps across the region.

Toomey graduated from King in 1997 where he played on the men's tennis team for four years. While a member of Tornado Tennis, Toomey was named team Most Valuable Player in 1995 and 1996. As a student, he was elected SGA President, sang in The Refreshment Company and served as trainer and student assistant for the King volleyball team.

After graduating from King, Toomey attended graduate school at the University of Tennessee. While studying for her master’s degree in Sport Management, he played on the University of Tennessee men's volleyball team for two seasons and served as a graduate assistant coach with the Lady Volunteer volleyball team.

He also spent three seasons as the head coach of the King men’s and women’s tennis teams. During his tenure, he was named NAIA Region XII Coach of the Year and Appalachian Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.

Toomey was born in Lexington, Ky. and is the son of Hall of Fame King Women’s Volleyball head coach, Susie Toomey. He has a bachelor’s degree in Behavior Science with a minor in Coaching. He obtained his Master’s of Science in Sport Management from Tennessee in 1998 and gained his teaching certification in Elementary Education from King in 1999.

Tale of the Toomey