HACKENSACK, N.J. – FDU Head Women's Volleyball Coach David Nguyen is leaving the program for another opportunity. It was announced on Tuesday that Nguyen will be the next head coach at North Dakota.

"We are incredibly grateful for David's leadership at FDU." said Senior Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Bradford Hurlbut. "He elevated the success of this program to heights never achieved before and we look forward to building upon that with our next head coach. We wish David and his family the best as they begin their next chapter at North Dakota." 

Nguyen, who took over in 2022, engineered a revitalization of the women's volleyball program in Hackensack. Over four seasons, Nguyen amassed 71 wins after the team had won just 26 total games in the five years prior. This stretch included FDU's first 20-win season in 35 years and three-consecutive seasons of 10+ conference victories.

Nguyen's Knights established themselves as one of the NEC's premier programs. FDU captured the NEC Championship in 2022, earning the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance, and returned to the conference championship match in both 2023 and 2024. In 2023, they claimed the NEC regular season title. Over Nguyen's tenure, the Knights posted a 43-15 conference record, tying for the second-best NEC winning percentage during that span.

While team success marked this prolific era in FDU women's volleyball, individual accolades served as strong indicators of the program's turnaround. Nguyen coached nine All-NEC selections and one AVCA All-American (Honorable Mention). In 2023, FDU's Tatijana Fucka became the second Knight ever to be named the NEC Player of the Year.  In 2025, Alesia Zampieri was crowned the NEC Rookie of the Year. Nguyen himself was named the NEC Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2023.

FDU thanks Nguyen for his service to the University and lasting impact on the women's volleyball program. A national search for the program's next head coach will begin immediately.
  About FDU Athletics
FDU is home to 23 NCAA Division I teams. A member of the NEC, the Knights have had tremendous success in the classroom, in athletic competition as well as giving back to the Bergen County community. FDU became the first school in NEC history to win championships in women's volleyball, women's soccer, and men's soccer in the same season (2022). In 2023, the Burgundy and Blue also became the first NEC school to win two games as a 16-seed in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, including an upset over top-seeded Purdue. As a result of its incredible 2022-23 season, FDU placed 92nd in the Learfield Director's Cup, the first NEC program to finish in the Top 100. In 2024, Salif Mane captured the Triple Jump title at the 2024 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, went on to win the gold medal at the Team USA Olympic Trials, and compete at the Paris Olympics. In 2025, FDU won four conference championships in the span of 35 days in women's basketball, women's bowling, women's golf, and women's tennis. Off the field, FDU student-athletes were recognized for their efforts in the community by winning the NEC Building Communities Award in 2020, 2024 and 2025. In addition to recent championships, FDU holds four additional national championships, two in sport of women's fencing and two in women's bowling.