Christy Benner
Head Coach

Christy Benner is in her 7th season as head coach of the Wheeling Jesuit University volleyball program.

Benner has guided the Cardinals to first-place finishes in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in each of her first four seasons at the helm. Her teams won the WVIAC conference tournament and made NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament Regional appearances in both 2002 and 2003. Benner enters the 2008 season with a 171-72 career record as head coach at Wheeling Jesuit.

In 2004, Benner’s Cardinals posted a 21-17 overall record, with an 17-1 WVIAC regular season mark – the team’s fourth consecutive regular season conference title.

Benner’s 2003 squad posted one of the most successful seasons in Wheeling Jesuit University history in any sport. That team led all of NCAA Division II in victories with a 38-3 record and finished the season ranked 22nd nationally in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II poll. The team went 19-0 in the WVIAC regular season, and swept through the conference tournament en route to a number two seeding in the Great Lakes Regional of the NCAA Division II tournament.

Benner began her volleyball coaching career in 1992 as an assistant coach at Bishop Donahue High School, in McMechen, West Virginia. After three years as an assistant, Benner ascended to the position of head coach at Bishop Donahue, a position she held from 1996-1998. She then took over the head coaching reigns at John Marshall High School, in Moundsville, West Virginia. Benner spent two seasons in that capacity before becoming the head coach at Wheeling Jesuit in 2002.

She is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), a voting member on the AVCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll, a member of the AVCA Head Coaches committee, and serves on the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region ranking committee.

Benner and her husband, assistant coach Matt, reside in Moundsville, West Virginia with their son Max.

Matt Benner
Assistant Coach

Matt Benner is in his 8th season as assistant volleyball coach and recruiting coordinator at Wheeling Jesuit University. Benner also contributed to the program for 5 years as a volunteer assistant and instructor prior to being named assistant coach. 

Benner has played an instrumental role in the development of the Cardinals’ volleyball program, as the program has moved from mediocrity to nationally-ranked.  The Cardinals have won the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in four of the past five seasons and have made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Regionals during his tenure.

An accomplished volleyball player, Benner brings an innovative, thorough, and positive coaching influence to the team. As recruiting coordinator, he is largely responsible for the influx of talented players into the program over the past several years, as well as this season’s highly touted freshman class.

Prior to being named assistant coach at Wheeling Jesuit, Benner spent eight seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Bishop Donahue High School and John Marshall High School.

In addition to his coaching duties with the Cardinals, Benner works for UPS in Wheeling.

Benner and his wife, head coach Christy, reside in Moundsville, West Virginia with their son Max.