Former Olympian Riley Salmon joined Concordia University Irvine as the head coach of the men's volleyball program in the summer of 2021.
In his first season at CUI, he directed the Eagles to the program's first-ever season sweep of Stanford as well as wins over then-No. 13 UC San Diego and No. 9 Grand Canyon. Those four victories along with an impressive 5-0 start to the season helped set the tone for a new era for the program. CUI's Jonathan Carlson emerged as a versatile difference-maker and signed a pro contract to play for a team in Portugal after graduation after he led CUI in kills, digs AND service aces. Carlson joined Raymond Barsemian as back-to-back CUI graduates who have since gone on to play professional volleyball in Europe.
As a member of Team USA Volleyball, Salmon played over 220 matches for his country and helped USA win the Gold Medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was a member of three Olympic teams between 2002 and 2012.
Salmon also played two seasons on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour and enjoyed a 15-year professional career with various clubs in Europe.Â
Salmon came to Concordia after serving as the first head coach at the University of Jamestown for three years in North Dakota. While building the Jamestown program, Salmon led the Jimmies to an impressive 32-5 record in the school’s first two years of NAIA competition.  This included an 11-2 record in the inaugural season for the program before the rest of the 2020 spring season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While at the helm, he recruited a number of student-athletes from the state of California to come to North Dakota and helped the Jimmies navigate the unorthodox challenges of the pandemic.
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