Press Release courtesy of George Mason Athletics
George Mason University women’s volleyball coach Aylene Ilkson named Chris Matsui to her coaching staff on Friday. Matsui most recently worked as the volunteer assistant coach for the 2017 ACC Co-Champion University of Pittsburgh Panthers.
“We are excited to welcome Chris to our staff and the Mason Athletics family. He brings an incredible energy into the gym every day and has a real passion for the game,” Ilkson said. “He will be running our defensive systems and working closely with our passing unit. I am confident that he will be elevating the game of every player he works with.”
Prior to Pitt, Matsui was an assistant with the Kuikahi 14u Boys Volleyball club (Honolulu, Hawaii) for two years under director Teoni Obrey. Overlapping with his club volleyball tenure was a stint as the Head Boys Junior Varsity coach at Maryknoll High School (Honolulu, Hawaii), while simultaneously working as an assistant with the varsity team.
Matsui enjoyed a decorated playing career where he won a gold medal in the 2007 Junior Olympics and was a silver medalist in the 2009 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships. He played collegiately at Concordia-Irvine for two years as well as the University of Pacific before that. While playing for the Eagles, Matsui was a part of an NAIA National Championship team in 2013 and collected two conference championships during his two seasons as a libero.
A native of Kailua, Hawaii, Matsui will embark on his fifth career coaching position in 2018.
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