Tyler Mattera begins his seventh season as a member of the Gannon volleyball coaching staff in 2023. He came to Gannon after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach for both the women’s and men’s volleyball teams at Penn State Behrend.
Working closely with head coach Matt Darling, Mattera has helped Gannon to a 172-34 record for an outstanding .835 winning percentage. Gannon has won 30-or-more matches in four of his six seasons, interrupted only by Gannon's 29-win season in 2022 and the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign (18-4 record). The Golden Knights have made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament, with four trips to the Elite Eight and Final Four appearances in 2017 and 2021. In 2020-21, Gannon competed in the AVCA National Championship Tournament as the NCAA did not hots a women’s volleyball championship.
Mattera helped Coach Darling transform a young, inexperienced 2022 team into a powerhouse that won PSAC West, PSAC Tournament, and NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional titles. The Golden Knights also won 17 matches in a row and 23 of 24 at one point. In addition to advancing to the NCAA D-II Elite Eight in Seattle, the Golden Knights claimed a series of postseason awards. Among those were Darling's PSAC West and AVCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year honors. Gannon also had two All-America honors, four all-region honors, including Freshman of the Year Bengisu Arslan, and four All-PSAC West honors, including the Freshman of the Year, Arslan, and the Defensive Athlete of the Year, Emma Hall.
In 2021, Mattera helped the Golden Knights to a 32-7 record, tied for the fourth-highest win total in program history. Gannon reached the PSAC Championship match, won the Atlantic Regional, and reached the Final Four with a win over Hillsdale in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual national champion Tampa in the semifinals. Gannon finished 17th in the final AVCA Division II Top 25 Poll for the second straight year. Gannon had two All-Americans, two Academic All-Americans, and four All-PSAC West performers.Â
The COVID-19 pandemic made for a challenging 2020-21 season. The Golden Knights notched an 18-4 overall record despite having to play an independent schedule in the spring. They ascended all the way up to No. 8 in the AVCA Top 25 Poll, the highest mark in program history. Gannon capped its season with a trip to the AVCA Tournament in Dallas, Texas that was highlighted by wins over Texas Woman’s and Arkansas Fort Smith. The Golden Knights finished the season ranked No. 17 in the final AVCA Top 25 Poll.
In his third season with Gannon in 2019-20, Mattera helped the Golden Knights reach the 30-win mark for the fourth straight season after compiling a 30-7 overall record and 17-1 in PSAC play and went on to reach their second NCAA Elite Eight in the last three seasons. Gannon proved to be on the best offensive units in NCAA Division II finishing the season positioned fifth in kills (1,806) and seventh in assists (1,659). The Knights went on to finish the season ranked No. 23 in the final AVCA Poll.
Gannon posted an impressive 31-3 overall mark in 2018 with an 17-1 record in conference play. The Golden Knights had winning streaks of 11 and 19 matches, which helped Darling to become the program's all-time winningest coach in program history with a 3-0 sweep of Shepherd in the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional in November 2018.
Little time was wasted making an impact at Gannon as Mattera helped the Golden Knights make their first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance during his first season on the bench in 2017. The squad led NCAA Division II in attacks (5,351), blocks (354.5) and digs (2,780). The Knights were tabbed 10th in the final AVCA Poll.
At Penn State Behrend, Mattera had a variety of responsibilities. His duties included individual and team practice planning, post-match video breakdown, recruiting, scouting, travel itineraries, academic progress reports and social media oversight. He was also involved with the Tool City Volleyball Club in a coaching capacity in 2016.
Mattera enjoyed a four-year collegiate career at NCAA Division I Saint Francis (Pa.) from 2007-10. The former libero was part of Red Flash teams that were ranked among the nation’s top 15 in his freshman, junior, and senior seasons. He remains active in volleyball, playing on the court and beach.
The Conneautville, Pa., native graduated from Saint Francis (Pa.) with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with minor in Philosophy in 2010. He resides in Erie.
