Finlandia hires Women’s V-Ball Coach

Courtesy of the Finlandia University Athletic Department

Hancock – Finlandia University Athletic Department has announced the addition of Kristan Schuster to the Finlandia staff as the Lion’s new Women’s Head Volleyball Coach.

Schuster, a twenty year coaching veteran, has been the head coach of Hancock Central High School since 1997, and has amassed a 316-132 record during her tenure while receiving Coach of the Year honors during the 2000, 2001 and 2003 seasons. Additionally during her time at Hancock Central High, Schuster has taught class room subjects in Mathematics and Spanish, and had served as the school’s athletic director between 2009 and 2011.

Coach Schuster will bring along with her twenty years of high school coaching, an additional six years of NCAA officiating experience as a volleyball official (2000-2006), as well as one season as the head coach of Finlandia’s inaugural volleyball program in 2000-2001, of which she spearheading many of the recruiting policies used today.

“Having the opportunity to bring a coach like Kristan back to the Lion’s program will undoubtedly be the catalyst to resurrecting our volleyball program to being a solid D-III competitor,” comments Chris Salani, Director of Athletics.  “I have full confidence in her competitive nature, excellent communication skills, networking and recruiting ability to develop and support a volleyball environment that is representative of the type of program all NCAA institutions aspire to have.”

In conjunction to her professional experience while at Hancock Central High, Schuster earned a Master’s of Science in Spanish Teaching from the University of León, Spain in 2010 and a Teaching Minor in Spanish from Northern Michigan University in 2006.

Schuster completed her undergraduate studies at Michigan Technological University with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education in 1996, earning Magna Cum Laude honors.  While at MTU, Schuster lead the Huskies for four years as a varsity volleyball student-athlete.  In her competitive career, Kristan set ten individual attacking and serving records for MTU, including earning several national, conference and team awards. During the 1994 and 1995 campaigns, Coach Schuster was recognized as an AVCA All-American honoree and awarded the team’s Most Valuable Player.  Kristan is also an inductee of MTU’s Athletic Hall of Fame.