MVB Completes Coaching Staff with Addition of Christian Rupert
August 10, 2021 | Men's Volleyball
New Cardinals head coach Donan Cruz announced the final piece to his coaching staff with the addition of former BYU standout
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State men's volleyball coach Donan Cruz has finalized his coaching staff with the hiring of Christian Rupert as an assistant. Rupert will join fellow assistant Mike Iandolo who was added to the staff August 2.
"We are very fortunate to welcome Christian to the Ball State Community," Cruz said. "He is coming to the Cardinals family having worked and played for some of the top programs in the country. We look forward to his future here at Ball State and how he will enhance the training and development of our student-athletes."
Rupert comes to Ball State after serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Princeton Tigers. Princeton was 7-2 in the EIVA (Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) and registered the program's first-ever win over UCLA, the No. 8 team in the country, before the 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers did not compete in 2021.
Prior to his coaching stint at Princeton, Rupert played professional volleyball in Croatia for Mladost Ribola Kaštela.Â
A native of Chalfont, Pennsylvania, where he attended Central Bucks High School West, Rupert was a middle blocker for BYU from 2015-2018. He helped the Cougars make appearances in the NCAA Championship match in 2016 and 2017 and reach the semifinals in 2018. Rupert was a member of three Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular season championships (2016, 2017, & 2018) and also won two MPSF Tournament titles (2016 & 2018).
"I am very excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the Ball State men's volleyball program," Rupert said. "I can't wait to get to work with Coach Cruz, Coach Iandolo, and the Cardinals student-athletes to honor the tradition and high standards of the volleyball program's storied history while striving to write exciting new chapters that will make the entire BSU community proud."