Ken Ko
Head Coach

Phone: (718) 488-1532
Email: ken.ko@liu.edu

Ken Ko enters his fifth season as the head women’s volleyball coach at LIU in 2019.
 
In his tenure, he has led the program to three Northeast Conference regular season titles, two NEC Tournament championships and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He has coached 12 All-NEC selections, two NEC Defensive Players of the Year and one NEC Player of the Year. Academically, his teams have earned four NCAA Academic Performance Program Awards, ranking in the top 10 percent nationally.
 
In 2018, Ko guided LIU to a 15-9 record overall and a 12-2 mark in NEC competition. He received his first NEC Coach of the Year honors by his peers, after guiding the team to the 11^th Regular Season Championship in program history. LIU was represented with three All-NEC selections and libero Natalia Rivera was named NEC and ECAC Defensive Player of the Year. The team had a standout year defensively as Ko coached the team to a league best 16.73 digs per set, good for 50th in the nation. LIU also held the opposition to a .164 hitting percentage, that led the conference and ranked 29^th in the country. All 14 members of the team were honored on the NEC's Fall Academic Honor Roll at the seasons end.
 
The 2017 campaign was Ko’s first 20-win season as a head coach, as LIU finished the season 20-10 overall record. He guided the team to its eighth sweep of both NEC Regular Season Championship and Tournament title that season. LIU outlasted CCSU in five-sets to claim its league-leading 11^th tournament title. The program earned an appearance in the NCAA Tournament appearance, taking on 8^th ranked Washington. LIU finished the season 11-3 in league competition and boasted a perfect 11-0 record at the Steinberg Center. The program was represented with three All-NEC selections, highlighted by the NEC Player of the Year, Viktoria Fink.
 
LIU continued its strong play in 2016, finishing with a 10-4 record in NEC competition to earn the two-seed in the NEC Tournament. The team rallied back in a five-set thriller against top seed Sacred Heart to earn the 10^th NEC title in program history. LIU traveled out to 15^th ranked Penn State for its NCAA Tournament appearance. At seasons end, the team garnered three All-NEC honorees.
 
In his first season at the helm, Ko guided LIU through a tough non-conference slate to prepare for league play. The team embarked on an 11-game win streak to close out the regular season to earn the NEC regular season title with a 12-2 mark. LIU led the conference in opposing hitting percentage that season with a .185 clip and ranked second in blocks per set at 2.28 and aces per set with 1.55. The program was represented with three All-NEC selections, led by the NEC Defensive Player of the Year Adriana Viñas Joy. She also garnered the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year along with All-ECAC honorees Tamara Ignjic and Nicole Okeke.

Ko came to Brooklyn after serving as associate head coach at the University of San Francisco for five seasons. There, Ko was responsible for coordinating team training, opponent scouting and game management, and also worked with the school's sand volleyball program. In Ko's time at USF, the Dons earned three-straight AVCA Academic Team Awards from 2011-13.

A 20-year coaching veteran, Ko joined the USF staff after a two-year stint at the University of Florida. During both seasons, the Gators advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament and finished 25-6 in 2009, and 27-4 in 2008. Florida won the Southeastern Conference Championship in 2008. 
 
Before moving to Gainesville, Ko spent three seasons at Washington State University from 2005-07. He served as the associate head coach during his final two seasons in Pullman. Ko's responsibilities included coordinating the team's defensive and blocking schemes. During his time with the Cougars, his team won a Pac-10 conference blocking title and finished in the top 10 in blocking in the country in 2005.
 
Ko also spent three years at California State Fullerton from 2002-04, where he helped guide the Titans to a school-record 11 home wins in 2004. Before heading to Fullerton, Ko was an assistant coach for one season at Colgate University, after beginning his collegiate coaching career at USF in 2000 as a volunteer assistant coach.
 
In addition to his collegiate experience, Ko has significant national and international experience working with the USA Volleyball program. He has coached for the Northern California Volleyball Association at the 2011 and 2014 European Global Challenge Tournament in Pula, Croatia, where he led his team to a sixth place finish out of 14 teams. And he was an assistant coach for the Junior National Select A1 Team in Fort Lauderdale in 2008, along with being an assistant coach for the Junior National Select A2 Team in both 2005 and 2006.
 
Ko began his coaching career at Miramonte High School in Orinda, Calif. as head coach and program director for the girl's program in 1995. In six seasons, his teams went 151-24 and won four league titles. His 1996 Miramonte team won a California Interscholastic Federation section title and advanced to the state semifinals. Ko was named Contra Costa Times Coach of the Year in 1998.
 
Ko, a Bay Area native received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education (Biomechanics) from the University of California-Davis in 1993. He played volleyball for the Aggies for three seasons as an outside hitter. After graduation he worked in the physical therapy field until 2000. 

Return to Staff