18-13 overall record and now has a 47-44 record in three seasons with the Lions. LMU advanced to the 2012 NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. “There is no greater honor than to represent your country as a member of a national team in preparation for an Olympic appearance,” said Dr. Bill S. Husak, LMU’s athletic director. “LMU and the women on the volleyball team have benefitted from Tom’s hard work and expertise. His addition to the USA staff is a sign of the great respect he has earned in the volleyball community to teach skills and coach the game at the highest level. We are all proud at LMU that Tom will be coaching the national team.”
Tom Black
Assistant Coach (2013-present)
Tom Black, the current head coach of the Loyola Marymount University women’s volleyball team, has accepted an assistant coach position with the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. “The Olympic Games is our sport’s biggest stage, and I am truly honored and humbled to work alongside Karch and his staff throughout this quad,” Black said. “Karch is an iconic figure in our sport, but over the past three years I have had the privilege of getting to know him well while working closely with him as a coach, and there is no better person to lead this program toward the 2016 Games. I am so excited to learn under Karch, as well as provide my best efforts for our program and these wonderful athletes in the USA gym.” Black, who joins Kiraly and assistant coach Reed Sunahara on the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team coaching staff, will continue in his head coach role at LMU while serving on the Team USA staff for the first two years of the Olympic quadrennial before taking a sabbatical at LMU for the 2015 season. “Tom is a talented coach who is dedicated to being the best he can be at his craft every day, just as we ask our USA athletes to do,” Kiraly said. “Serving as a consultant coach during the last quad, Tom has already made valuable contributions in the USA gym. I’ve enjoyed getting to know and work alongside him, and this program is blessed to have his service as it aspires to reach heights never attained before.”
“I want to thank LMU, in particular my athletic director Bill Husak and supervisor Dan Smith for allowing me to pursue this opportunity while remaining the head coach for a program and university I have grown to love,” Black said. “I am deeply committed to the success of both endeavors and very grateful for these opportunities.” Including a 115-29 record at NCAA Division II UC San Diego, Black has accumulated a 162-73 record as a head coach in women’s collegiate volleyball. He was named the 2006 AVCA Pacific Region Coach of the Year after leading the Tritons to a 26-3 record. Before arriving at UCSD, Black spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the men’s volleyball program at University of Southern California. Prior to his stint with the Trojans, he spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the men’s head coach at Pierce Junior College in Woodland Hills, Calif. He also was an assistant in 2003 with the Pierce women’s team. His men’s squads won the 2002 and 2003 California state junior college crowns, finishing 15-3 in 2002 and 17-2 in 2003. On the club circuit, Black served four years as the co-director of the Santa Monica Beach Club team. He was the head coach of SMBC’s boys’ 18s team in 2003, 2004 and 2005 after serving as an assistant in 2002 with the 18s team that won the bronze medal at the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships. He also was the head coach of SMBC’s girls’ 17s team in 2005.
Black spent the last three summers as a consultant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team as the squad prepared for the 2012 London Games. As the consultant coach, Black primarily assisted in the training sessions at the USA National Teams Center in Anaheim, Calif.
As a player, Black was a four-year varsity letterman for the UCSD men’s volleyball program from 1993-96, setting numerous hitting records and earning All-MPSF honorable mention honors as a senior in 1996. He was Volleyball Magazine’s Small College Player of the Year in 1996, while also earning Small College All-America honors that same year.
Black finished his third season as Loyola Marymount’s head coach in 2012 with an
Black received his bachelor’s degree in political science from UCSD in 1996.
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