Chris Alstrup enters his third season as an Abilene Christian volleyball assistant coach in 2025. Before his time as an assistant coach with the Wildcats, he both coached and played professionally internationally in Denmark and Sweden.
The Wildcats picked up 10 wins in 2024, good for their most victories in a two-year period since the 2017 and 2018 campaigns totaled 26 wins. ACU swept the Wildcat Classic versus Alabama A&M and Oral Roberts and returned to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament for the second year in a row. The Wildcats shined on defense, ranking in the WAC's top three in kills, assists and digs allowed. Senior outside hitter and right side Bryley Steinhilber was named to the All-WAC Second Team after ranking eighth in the conference with 3.01 kills per set and 3.45 points per set. Middle blocker Avery Thaler received a spot on the All-Freshman Team in her first season on campus.
In his first season as an assistant coach, Alstrup guided the Wildcats to 11 wins, including a 3-1 victory over Texas Tech for the program's first win over a power conference opponent since 2013. He steered the team to a three-match sweep of the ACU Tournament and six WAC wins to qualify for the WAC Tournament for the first time in two years. The Wildcats logged 1,400 kills and 12.39 kills per set, the team's second-most as a Division I program. ACU's 4,059 attack attempts and .179 attack percentage were good for fourth-most in the DI era, while its 1,287 assists and 11.39 assists per set were good for third-most. The Wildcats tallied 1,695 digs, the program's third-most since 2013. Steinhilber and junior setter Madeline Guffy received votes to the All-WAC Team as ACU led the conference in total service aces (109) and total digs (968). The Wildcats logged a 3.7 grade point average and six players averaged a 4.0 to finish the fall semester as eight players landed on the Academic All-WAC Team.
ACU has shined in serving under Moronu Alstrup's leadership, recording its most service aces in a two-year stretch versus DI competition. The Wildcats' 190 service aces and 1.68 aces per set in 2023 are their most as a DI program, with their 140 in 2024 good for second. ACU recorded 53 solo blocks in 2023, the second-most by a Wildcat Division I program, with 1,751.5 points and 15.50 points per set, its third-most in a season.
From 2022-23, Alstrup served as an assistant coach for Gentofte Volley, located in Denmark. During his time on staff, the team earned a bronze medal in the Danish Volleyball League. Alstrup was the head coach for Amager’s First Division team from 2021-22, as well as a player for the Amager Volley Organization from 2019-22. While at Amager, he helped the organization earn a Danish U21 Championship title.
In 2018-19, Alstrup played professionally for Gentofte Volley and served as the head coach for the organization’s U16 team. He served as an assistant coach in three different professional organizations before his time at Gentofte and Amager Volley from 2013-18. He was an assistant at Lyngby Volley in Denmark from 2013-15. During his time at Lyngby, the organization earned a silver medal in the Danish league in 2015.
Alstrup went to Sweden for two years, first as an assistant coach at Lund Volley from 2016-17, then as a professional player from 2017-18. He also earned five championships as a youth player.
Alstrup was a 2023 AP graduate in service, hospitality and tourism management from CPH Business Academy in Copenhagen. He was a HF graduate in 2017 from HF-Centret Efterslægten, also in Copenhagen.
Alstrup is married to head coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup, who played professionally in Denmark. The pair has two kids, Charlie and Jude.
