Program Outlook

Sixth-year coach Thanh Pham (pronounced TANG FAMM) is building on St. Thomas’ rich volleyball tradition.

The Tommie volleyball team has finished in the conference’s top three in 17 of the last 20 seasons, with nine MIAC championships.

St. Thomas was selected to compete in the NCAA tournament six straight years (1987-92) and have been back in the NCAA postseason in each of the last three seasons. The Tommies reached the regional finals in 1990, 1991 and 1992, and then again in 2005 and 2007. The 2007 team lost 15-13 in the decisive fifth game of the regional final to UW-Whitewater, and one week later Whitewater lost 15-13 in game five of the NCAA title match to Washington (Mo.).

In the last eight seasons, St. Thomas teams have compiled a 225-76 record, with five MIAC regular-season championships. That includes Pham's 131-35 record (47-8 in MIAC regular-season play) since 2003. In 2007, Pham was named NCAA Region Coach of the Year after his team finished 28-5, including a 14-0 mark vs. conference teams, and closed 11th in the final Division III rankings.

The Tommies have received AVCA All-America honors seven times in the last six seasons, and have had several Division III National Players of the Week.

Pham has 11 years of college coaching experience in the MIAC and has been a Junior Olympic coach for 16 seasons.

Four of Pham's five Tommie teams have been ranked in the top 20 most of the season. The 2003 Toms won the conference championship and finished 24-6. The Toms went 20-14 in 2004, and compiled an impressive 30-7 mark in 2005 for the program’s seventh consecutive 20-win season. The 2005 campaign included a 15-0 sweep vs. MIAC teams, four postseason wins, and a berth in the NCAA playoffs. The 2006 Tommies finished 29-7 and claimed the No. 11 national ranking after a return trip to the NCAA playoffs.

The Toms are also strong academically -- last year's team cumulative grade-point average was an impressive 3.48.

The Tommies practice and play home matches in Schoenecker Arena. The Toms travel to 2-3 tournaments a year, with recent trips to San antonio, Seattle, Atlanta, Boston and Wisconsin. They have 12 varsity players, while another 12-14 players compete at the junior-varsity level.