Christie Landry, a former standout volleyball player at Michigan State, has been named assistant volleyball coach at the University of Kentucky, head coach Jona Braden announced Thursday. The Naperville, Ill., native was an honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree as a setter for the Spartans in 2000 before embarking on a professional career overseas.
?I?m extremely pleased and excited to be joining the Kentucky staff,? Landry said. ?As a former collegiate player in a power conference, I understand what it takes to be competitive at this level and I hope to use that knowledge to help Kentucky grow its program. I?m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and look forward to the challenges ahead.?
Landry, 24, still ranks fourth in MSU history for career assists with 3,761 and was named Most Valuable Player for the Spartans as a senior in 2000. The four-year starter?s 1,503 assists as a senior still rank fourth in school history for single-season assists. In her sophomore season, she racked up 1,413 assists, which still ranks sixth in the record books at MSU. Remarkably, Landry was recruited out of high school as an outside hitter, but switched to the setting position as a sophomore.
?Christie has experienced volleyball at the highest level,? Braden said. ?She has been a huge instrumental piece to the success of every team she has been associated with. She brings an amazing competitive spirit that speaks volumes about her approach to teaching and sharing with athletes by inspiring them to truly become the very best that they can be. I welcome her enthusiasm, determination and passion to making an immediate impact on the growth and development of this team. Not only is she a truly a super fit for where this program is today but for the direction we are going in the future.?
After completing her bachelor?s degree in family and child ecology in May 2002, the 6-2 Landry played in the United States Professional League in 2002 for the St. Louis Quest. Later that year, she joined the Club Voleibol Sant Cugat in Barcelona, Spain, where she spent the season training and traveling throughout Europe.
Landry has spent the last season coaching at Sports Performance Volleyball Club in Naperville, one of the most prestigious youth sports clubs in America. She also played club volleyball for Sports Performance for six seasons, where she guided her team to the 1997 U.S. Junior National Volleyball Championship.
Landry attended Saint Francis High School in Wheaton, Ill., where she was named the 1996 Chicago Sun Times High School Player of the Year and the Gatorade Player of the Year. While playing club volleyball, she was a Junior Olympic All-American in 1995 and 1997 and a member of the USA Volleyball gold-medal winning teams in the same years.
