The 2020 season is Kristi Arnston's eighth year as assistant coach with the Oredigger volleyball team. Arnston was the Frontier Conference Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018. Arnston helped the Orediggers win their first Frontier Conference regular season title since 1990 and reached the Final 16 Team bracket at the NAIA National Tournament for the second straight year. Arnston played volleyball for Montana Tech from 2005-08 as a libero. The three-year captain was part of two squads that went to the regional NAIA tournament. During her junior and senior seasons, Witt was named team MVP for the Lady Diggers. Witt was also an Academic All-American for the Orediggers. Originally from Butte, Arnston was a multi-sport athlete at Butte High School before attending Montana Tech. Witt has coached high school basketball at Butte High and still coaches jumping events and the javelin for the Bulldog track team. Arnston graduated from Montana Tech with a degree in Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2009 and finished her Master’s degree in Industrial Hygiene in 2011. She lives in Butte with her husband Bryan Arnston.
Since being hired on February 9, 2012, Brian Solomon has orchestrated a very successful volleyball program. Entering his 11th season as an Oredigger, Solomon has a career overall record of 249-169 and 155-97 at Montana Tech.
In his tenure, Solomon has produced, 66 Academic All-Conference selections, nine All-Americans, 13 All-Region selections, one Frontier Conference Player of the Year, one Freshman of the Year, three Libero of the Year recipients, 34 all-conference selections, and nine all-freshmen team honorees. Solomon has been named the Frontier Conference Coach of the Year three times while at Montana Tech. He has also received two AVCA All-Region (2012, 2017) awards. The Oredigges have reached the NAIA National Tournament four times under Coach Solomon.
Montana Tech (23-10) finished the season with their fourth trip to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site and just missed the championship round in a playoff match. The Orediggers finished the season ranked No. 14 in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
Five Orediggers earned all-conference awards including three first team selections in Karina Mickelson, Maureen Jessop, and McKenna Kaelber. Olivia Muir and Taylor Henley were named second team.
Previously, Solomon was the head coach for the Columbia College Fighting Koalas in South Carolina. In his five seasons at Columbia, he rebuilt the program and turned out three straight winning campaigns from 2009-11. Solomon brought the first ever 20-plus winning season to the Koalas in 2009 with a 24-9 overall record and a third place finish in the Southern States Athletic Conference. In that same year, Solomon received the SSAC Coach of the Year award in addition to nine other SSAC awards. In 2011, Columbia joined the Appalachian Athletic Conference and he achieved another 20-plus win season taking the Koalas to the AAC semi-finals.
Under his coaching, Columbia’s players also achieved accolades. Solomon coached the SSAC Freshman of the Year, the ACC Libero and Setter of the Year as well as many all-conference selections. He has found success with the NAIA’s Champions of Character Awards. In 2009 and 2010, Solomon’s volleyball teams received the Champions of Character Team Sportsmanship Award.
Solomon came to Columbia College in July 2007 from Milligan College and Emmanuel Christian Seminary in Johnson City, TN. He earned his Master of Divinity from Emmanuel Christian Seminary and served as the assistant volleyball coach at NAIA member institution Milligan College for three seasons.
As an undergraduate at Hope International University where he competed as a setter, he led his team to a top ten ranking nationally in NAIA men's volleyball for three seasons and back-to-back NCCAA national championships in 2002 and 2003. He also earned numerous individual awards including NCCAA All-American honors in 2003 and Hope International's Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year in 2004.
Brian and his wife, Lindsey, live in Butte with their children Cole, Khloe and Logan.