Bio

Danielle Doerfler, Director of Athletics at Fontbonne University, announced that TJ Vorva has been promoted to Men's Volleyball Head Coach after serving for two years as the Men's Volleyball Assistant Coach.

"It is my pleasure to announce TJ Vorva as our next head men's volleyball coach," said Director of Athletics Danielle Doerfler. "TJ has been around the program as a player and more recently as coach, continuing to demonstrate his commitment, passion and love for the program.  Many alums, current and past coaches and players expressed their continued support for TJ."

"Throughout the national search, he continued to impress the committee with his enthusiasm, ideas and care for Fontbonne Athletics.  We feel as though TJ is the right coach to lead this program in the future. We look forward to continuing our success with recruitment, conference championships and NCAA tourney runs. Go Griffins!" 

"I want to express my sincere gratitude to Director of Athletics, Danielle Doerfler, and the entire athletic department for granting me the opportunity to lead the men's program at Fontbonne University," stated Vorva. "I can't emphasize enough how pumped I am to work with an awesome group of driven guys to build something that will make the University proud."

Vorva was named Assistant Coach in 2021. He led the team to two consecutive MCVL Regular Season Titles, back-to-back appearances in the MCVL Tournament as well as the title for the MCVL Tournament in 2021, finishing the season with a 19-3 overall record and 15-1 in conference play. The team earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament and a 12th-place finish in the AVCA National Rankings. In the 2022 season, the team went undefeated in conference play.

He coached the 2021 Second Team AVCA All-American recipient Ryan Lively, who set the program's single-season records in total kills, kills per set, and hitting percentage by a pin hitter. Lively also earned 2021 MCVL Newcomer of the Year and 2021 MCVL Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Prior to Fontbonne, Vorva has been the head coach at the High-Performance Volleyball Club since 2017. In his 16 year-old team, they competed in the club division at AAU nationals where they achieved a 10-1 record securing a fifth-place finish overall. He coached a player who received All-American recognition at Nationals.

"Being in the program as both a player and an assistant coach since 2015, I have witnessed firsthand what it takes to build and maintain a high-level volleyball program. I feel incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by such supportive parents, family, friends, alumni, players, and fellow coaches. With the backing of the Fontbonne community, I am eager to help bring that tenacious and determined mindset that has consistently propelled us to success in years past," he said.

As an athlete, Vorva competed under Head Coach Mike Haston at Fontbonne. He was the team captain and recorded a 26-3 overall mark and an elite 8 finish in 2019, where he helped the team win the MCVL Tournament. He played high school volleyball at Sandburg High School in Chicago, where he assisted in leading the team to a fourth-place finish in the IHSA playoffs. He was named the All-Area Honorable Mention and Player of the Month.

Vorva graduated from Fontbonne with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Minor in Sports Management in 2019.