Loras Volleyball Camps

Head Coach Kristy Duncan

The 2021 season marked head coach Kristy Duncan's second season at the helm of the Loras College women's volleyball program. Duncan joined the Loras College athletics staff prior to the start of the 2020 season as the head women's volleyball coach and Senior Woman Administrator.

Duncan led the Duhawks to a strong 21-11 (5-3 A-R-C) record in the fall of 2021, seeing the Duhawks protect Lillis Court all season with a perfect 11-0 record at home and finish the year third in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) standings. The 2021 season saw Duncan's Duhawks reach new levels as senior hitter Lyndsi Wilgenbusch tallied 456 kills in the season, marking the fifth-best single season kills total in program history and highest total since 2008. Sophomore setter Sara Hoskins also put her name in the record books with the sixth-most assists in a single season with 1,176 to her name, marking the most of a setter since 2008. Graduate student libero Krystal Tranel had the second-best digs total since 2015 with 650, just 11 shy of now-assistant coach Haley Bergan who totaled 661 in 2015. Wilgenbusch's offensive dominance saw her crowned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region and All-American, becoming the program's first All-American in over a decade.

On the court, the Duhawks' success saw four of Duncan's student-athletes named All-Conference with five earning recognition for their excellence in the classroom as Academic All-Conference honorees.

In her first season with the Duhawks, Duncan helped the team to a 5-3 conference record in the shortened spring season due to the COVID-19 pandemic moving fall competition to the spring. The Duhawks also secured the program's first AVCA Top-25 ranking and ranked as high as No. 15. Loras finished third in the conference and scored three All-Conference honors.

Duncan comes to Loras after serving as the head coach at Illinois College. Duncan led the team to back-to-back conference tournaments while also claiming back-to-back 20-win season in 2018-19 which was the first back-to-back 20-win seasons for Illinois College since 1995-96. The Lady Blues made an appearance in the Midwest Conference (MWC) tournament in 2018, the program's first time since 2006, and had the highest team winning percentage since 1996. Illinois College also made the conference tournament in 2019 as the No. 3 seed and posted the school's best conference record since 2003. Duncan received the Midwest Conference Coach of the Year award in 2019 for her great achievements as the head coach of the Lady Blues. Duncan finished with a career record of 92-77 overall in her six seasons and became the first volleyball coach at Illinois College to be over .500 since 2007.

In addition to her work as the head volleyball coach, Duncan served as the assistant athletic director at Illinois College. In this role, Duncan created specific programs for female student-athletes such as Women Talk Wednesday, a National Girls and Women in Sports Day Celebration, and Kids Camp. She assisted with creating curriculum for D3 Week, SID Appreciation Week, National Girls and Women in Sports Day and other events. Duncan was also the co-advisor and content creator for the Illinois College Athletic Leadership Academy.

A former NCAA student-athlete, Duncan played one year at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) before transferring to Illinois State University. While at IWU Duncan helped the Titans win the conference title and advance to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Duncan earned her bachelor's degree in education with minors in health, social science and coaching from Illinois State University in 2002 before earning her master's degree in sport, recreation and tourism from the University of Illinois.

Duncan is a native of Decatur, Ill. and currently resides in Kieler, Wis.