University of Minnesota Athletics
Volleyball
- Position:
- Associate Head Coach
- Alma Mater:
- Milwaukee, 2002
- Twitter:
- @TheVolleyBeard
- Instagram:
- @matt_houk8
- Email:
- mmhouk@umn.edu
Matt Houk completed his ninth season season with Golden Gopher volleyball and fourth as an associate head coach in 2022. Houk came to Minnesota after a six-tenure as the head coach at the University of South Dakota.
Houk began his Minnesota tenure in March of 2014. Since his arrival at Minnesota, Houk assisted Gopher coach Hugh McCutcheon to the 2015 and 2018 Big Ten championship and back-to-back Final Four berths. During his time at Minnesota, he's helped the Gophers to three Final Fours, four Elite Eight's and eight Sweet 16's. He has played a key role in multiple top-10 ranked recruiting classes, including pulling in the No. 1 overall class in the nation in 2020.
Coaching primarily the setters and defensive specialists, Houk worked with Samantha Seliger-Swenson for four seasons. She went on to become the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year, a four-time All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2018. In just her sophomore season, Seliger-Swenson became the Big Ten Setter of the Year and a First Team All-American. On the defensive side, the Gophers improved from 13.66 digs per set in 2014, to 15.50 per set in 2015.
In 2018, Houk coached CC McGraw to Freshman All-Big Ten honors and Volleyball Magazine Freshman All-America accolades. McGraw was named First Team All-Big Ten in both 2019 and 2021, garnering AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors in both seasons. The Gophers finished second in the Big Ten with 16.94 digs per set in 2021 and McGraw averaged a career-best 4.59 d/s, which ranked her second in the conference. Houk again coached McGraw to All-Big Ten honors in 2022 as she earned second team accolades and AVCA All-North Region honors. McGraw finished her Minnesota career with 1,924 digs, a mark which ranks third all-time in Gopher laurels.
Houk has played a key part in mentoring and developing setter Melani Shaffmaster, who came to Minnesota as the No. 1 ranked setter recruit in the country in 2020. In her first year in Maroon & Gold, Shaffmaster was named Big Ten Setter of the Week twice and made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. In 2021, she upped her assists per set from 9.69 to 10.68 and earned her second consecutive AVCA All-North Region selection. She also led the team with 0.28 aces per set. She had a breakout 2022 season, earning First Team All-Big Ten honors, All-North Region honors and was twice named Big Ten Setter of the Week. Shaffmaster averaged 10.42 assists per set, a mark that ranked second in the Big Ten. She was also named to the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge All-Tournament Team and earned the tournaments 'Best Setter' award.
Houk came to Minnesota after a six-year tenure as the Coyotes' head coach in 2013. In his last season, USD posted a 9-5 Summit League finish, good for third in the conference standings and held a 19-13 record overall. In his six-year stint at South Dakota, Houk held a 97-85 record and accumulated a .533 win percentage, the best win percentage in school history. His 97 wins ranks second in South Dakota all-time career wins. In his final year at USD, Houk recruited and coached 2013 Summit League Player of the Year, Kendall Kritenbrink, as she was also named an American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America honorable mention. Under Houk's guidance, USD placed three on the 2013 All-Summit League Volleyball Team. He also helped the Coyotes change from the Great West Conference to the Summit League in 2011 and a sixth-place finish in the standings their inaugural year. In his first year with the Coyotes, Houk propelled the 2009 edition to a 23-4 mark, which tied a school record for wins in a season.
Prior to his time at South Dakota, Houk was an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay from 2004-06. During his three seasons with the Phoenix, five players were named to the All-Horizon League team and six student-athletes earned academic all-league honors. He began his Division I coaching career at Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2002-03 where the Panthers combined for a 45-19 record with 20-win seasons both years.
A former athlete himself, Houk played Division I baseball with Milwaukee as a shortstop. With the Panthers, Houk held a career .342 batting average and was named to the program’s 20th anniversary team in 2011.
A native of Waukesha, Wis., Houk graduated in 2002 from Milwaukee where he earned an English degree. He lives in Bloomington, Minn., with his wife, Jenni, also on the volleyball staff, and three children, Jaeden, Cole and Jorie.
