Head Coach Tim Gaiser enters his sixth season with Mariners in 2021. In Gaiser’s first five years with the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy volleyball program the team has won the Skyline Conference Championship (2017), earned the automatic qualifying bid to the 2017 NCAA III Women’s Volleyball Tournament, won a Skyline Conference Regular Season Championship (2018), a Skyline Conference Regular Season Co-Championship (2016), qualified the program for the Skyline Conference Volleyball Playoffs all four years and played in and hosted two conference finals (2016 & 2017). Coach Gaiser has recruited and coached one AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, one AVCA All-Region Selection, two AVCA Region Freshmen of the Year, one ECAC Second Team selection, two ECAC Metro Region Rookies of the Year, eight Skyline All-Conference First Team selections and four Skyline Second Team All-Conference selections. Gaiser mentored the 2017 Skyline Conference Championship’s Most Outstanding Player Award recipient, Dominique Pope (Silver Spring, Md.), and recruited and coached USMMA’s first volleyball All-American, Taylor Gilbertson (Phoenix, Ariz.). Coach Gaiser has compiled a 74-30 overall record, for a .712 winning percentage and tallied a 38-4 Skyline Conference record for a .905 winning percentage.
Statistically, the Kings Point volleyball program finished each of Gaiser’s four seasons as one of the top defensive teams in the country. In 2016, Merchant Marine posted an impressive 2nd place ranking in holding opponents to the lowest hitting percentage in the country. They followed that up in 2017 with a 5th place national ranking, and in 2018, KP Volleyball was an NCAA Statistical Champion in team defense, holding opponents to a .055 hitting percentage. 2019 saw the Mariners with another stingy defensive season holding all opponents to a .096 hitting percentage which was good enough for a 6th place ranking nationally. In four full seasons at KP, Gaiser’s players have accumulated 15 Skyline Conference Player of the Week awards, 14 Skyline Rookie of the Week awards, 20 players were named to the Skyline Volleyball Honor Roll, two players were named ECAC Region Rookies of the Month, one player was named ECAC Offensive Player of the Month, two players earned Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of Week honors, and three Mariners received ECAC Rookie of the Week awards.
The 2019 season was another excellent campaign for the Mariner volleyball program under Gaiser’s leadership. USMMA finished the Skyline Conference schedule with a 10-1 record, good enough for the #2 seed in the conference championship tournament. The 2019 Merchant Marine Academy squad earned a fourth-straight trip to the Skyline Conference playoffs, but lost to the eventual tournament champions in the conference final in a hard-fought 5-set loss on the road. Overall, the Mariners compiled a 20-7 overall record for a .741 winning percentage on the season. In the latest volleyball campaign, senior co-captain Kyleigh Kappas (Parker, CO) and freshman Paige Smith (Virginia Beach, VA) earned First Team All-Skyline recognition, sophomore Taylor Gilbertson (Phoenix, AZ) garnered Second Team Honors, and senior Nicole Ibinson (Fredericksburg, VA) was recognized with the All-Skyline Sportsmanship Award. Paige Smith added additional conference, regional, and national awards in ’19 and was named the Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year, the ECAC Metro Region Rookie of the Year, ECAC All-Region Second Team, and was recognized as the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) pick as the Region’s Rookie of the Year.
Gaiser brings over 20 years of volleyball coaching and officiating experience to Kings Point and most recently served as an assistant coach of the women's squad for the past two seasons at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn. With the Owls, he was responsible for scouting the opposition, practice planning and match management, as well as handling the team's travel, managing the team's budget, successfully organizing and executing recruiting plans, alumni relations and community service programs and spearheading the team's social media presence.
Prior to his stint at SCSU, Gaiser was the head coach at Mitchell College for the 2013 season, where he led the Mariners to the program's highest overall and conference win total since joining the New England Collegiate Conference. Gaiser also coached two of his student-athletes to the All-NECC Team and guided Mitchell to postseason play in the NECC Tournament.
Coach Gaiser has also served as a head coach at SUNY Purchase College (men's team) and Quinnipiac University (women's) and was an assistant at Western Connecticut State (women's) and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (women's), where he earned the title Associate Head Coach.
In 2005, Gaiser was named Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) Conference Coach of the Year at Purchase after leading an upstart program to the conference final and placing four players on the All-Conference team.
Gaiser is also an active member of the Professional Association of Volleyball Officials and has officiated matches at the NCAA I, II and III levels since 1993. He has also served on the PAVO-CT executive board as Secretary.
A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Gaiser served honorably for four years of active duty from 1979-1983, reaching the rank of Corporal. Coach Gaiser has earned both Associate and Bachelor's degrees from Charter Oak State College in New Britain, Conn., and completed his Master's degree in Sport Management from Southern New Hampshire University in 2013.
"I'm very thankful to Mrs. White and the Academy's administration for giving me this opportunity," exclaimed Gaiser. "This is a special place with a special history and a special mission. I am happy to be a part of it. The amount of commitment that the Midshipmen at the Academy have is unbelievable and to further represent the Academy in athletics speaks highly of their character. I am very excited for what I know will be a great year ahead!"
