MONROE, La. – ULM Director of Athletics John Hartwell has announced the hiring of Matt Kearns as ULM's head indoor volleyball coach.
"We are excited to welcome Matt Kearns to the Warhawk Family as our new head indoor volleyball coach," Hartwell said. "Matt's proven success as a coach in the areas of recruiting, player development, scouting, and data analytics made him an attractive candidate. When we met with him in person on our campus, he laid out his plan to get our volleyball program on the right track. The future of our program under his leadership is bright."
"I am honored and thrilled to join the ULM as the new head indoor volleyball coach," Kearns said. "I want to express my sincere gratitude to John Hartwell, Michael Gammon and the rest of the administration for their belief in me and for the opportunity to lead this program filled with exceptional young women. Their support and confidence in my abilities are truly humbling. Together, I know we can take ULM volleyball to new heights, and I know this group will work tirelessly to do so. There's already a culture here that empowers our student-athletes to excel academically and athletically while pursuing their dreams, and I am ecstatic to be a part of it. Go Warhawks!"
Kearns comes to ULM after spending the last six seasons at Northern Kentucky, working as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons before becoming an assistant coach for four seasons. He brings an analytical background to ULM and was instrumental in NKU's game preparation. He helped the Norse to a combined 108-69 record from 2017-22, with winning records in each of his last five seasons. The Norse finished as Horizon League Tournament Champions in 2019 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament while finishing with a Top-50 RPI (49).
In 2022, Kearns helped the Norse to an 18-13 record and a 15-3 finish in the Horizon League, making an appearance in the Horizon League Championship Match. He helped coach Reilly Briggs, Anna Burke and Abby Kanakry to First-Team All-Horizon League recognition while Anna Brinkmann was named to the Second Team to earn her fourth-consecutive All-Horizon League recognition.
In 2021, Kearns and the Norse finished 20-8 overall and 15-2 in the Horizon League, reaching the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament. Brinkmann, Briggs and Kanakry were each named to the First-Team All-Horizon League while Joy Banks and Sequoia Hunt were named to the All-Freshman Team. Brinkmann earned her second AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention.
He helped NKU through the COVID-19 shortened 2021 spring season, finishing with a 9-5 record and 8-4 in the Horizon League. Brinkmann and Miranda Wucherer were named to the First-Team All-Horizon League, while libero Ashton Terrill earned her third-straight All-Horizon League selection.
In 2019, he assisted the Norse to its NCAA Tournament appearance, finishing 19-13 overall and 9-7 in the Horizon League. As the No. 4 seed, NKU won all three matches at the Horizon League Championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament against No. 22 Michigan. Brinkmann was First-Team All-Horizon League and named to the AVCA All-Region Team, while Terrill was honorable mention All-Horizon League and Briggs and Kanakry were named to the Horizon League's All-Freshman Team.
As a graduate assistant in 2018, NKU broke the 20-win mark, going 21-10 with an 11-5 record in conference action, advancing to the finals of the Horizon League Tournament. NKU was chosen to compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, facing Miami (Ohio). In his first season as a graduate assistant at NKU in 2017, the Norse finished 12-15 overall and 7-9 in the Horizon League.
Before NKU, Kearns was a student coach and technical advisor at Xavier from 2013-17. With the Musketeers, he provided scouting reports with DataVolley and DataVideo, coordinated film exchange with opposing programs and assisted with operations functions for road travel.
Kearns also spent time coaching at Purcell Marian High School in Cincinnati, where he was both a varsity assistant coach and junior varsity head coach. He was a member of the staff of the year in 2015. At the club level, he has spent time with Elevation Volleyball Club and Tri-State Elite. In 2022, his Tri-State 16s team reached the national championship game, and his 13s team finished in the Top 5 at nationals. He started as a volunteer assistant with the club since 2015 before becoming the youngest coach in the club to take the helm of a team.
Kearns received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Xavier in 2017.
