Volleyball Announces Coaching Staff Addition

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Head volleyball Sarah Rumely Noble added a new member to her coaching staff on May 13, announcing that Christian Rupert will join the Gamecocks after working with the Ball State men’s volleyball program since 2021.

“I’m excited to add Christian to my staff,” Noble said. “His coaching experience on the men’s side as well as his playing experience will immediately impact our program and our student-athletes. His reputation and character precedes him and we are pumped he is a Gamecock!”

Rupert enjoyed three 20-win seasons in his time at Ball State, highlighted by a historic 2022 season where the Cardinals went 23-4 with Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) regular season and tournament titles. Ball State made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002, with the Cardinals earning the No. 2 seed in the event and a bye into the national semifinals.

“I’m incredibly honored to join the program,” Rupert said. “From our first conversation, I loved Coach Noble’s passion and vision for the program and look forward in joining her and the rest of the staff in working to realize it. I can’t wait to get in the gym and start building with these amazing student-athletes.”

Rupert came to Ball State after serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Princeton Tigers. Princeton was 7-2 in the EIVA (Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) and registered the program’s first-ever win over UCLA, the No. 8 team in the country, before the 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers did not compete in 2021.

Prior to his coaching stint at Princeton, Rupert played professional volleyball in Croatia for Mladost Ribola Kaštela in 2018 and 2019, starting for the team as it reached the league title match.

As a collegiate student-athlete, Rupert was a middle blocker for BYU from 2014-2018. He helped the Cougars make appearances in the NCAA Championship match in 2016 and 2017 and the semifinals in 2018. Rupert was a member of three Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular season championships (2016, 2017, & 2018) and won two MPSF Tournament titles (2016 & 2018).

He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from BYU in 2018 and his Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from Ball State in May 2025.

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