Since coming to Allegheny as the head volleyball coach in the fall of 1986, Bridget Sheehan has built one of the most successful NCAA Division III programs in the country.
Allegheny finished the 2015 season with an 18-13 overall mark - its second-straight campaign with 18 wins - and saw a pair of players in sophomore Terra Schall and senior Taylor Samuel garner All-NCAC Honorable Mention plaudits. Schall in particular had possibly the best season for a libero under Sheehan, as she collected a program record 762 digs on the year, the fourth-highest total in NCAA Division III.
Sheehan became the 23rd coach in NCAA history to hit the 600-win milestone in the Gators’ 2014 season-opener on Aug. 29, surpassing the win plateau in a 3-0 win over Waynesburg. Allegheny closed out the season in stellar fashion, finished out the year with an 18-15 record, the highest single-season win total since the 2003 season. Sophomore Bailey Gawley and first year Justine Kelly scored All-NCAC accolades, as senior Catherine Kasianowicz closed out her career by landing on the all-time career listing for service aces and digs.
It did not take long for Sheehan to catapult her program to regional and national prominence. In just her second year at the helm, she led the 1987 squad to a 42-5 record, which included a school-record 37 straight wins, en route to the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The following year was even better as she set a program record for wins with a record of 44-9. In that year the Gators captured the first of four straight North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships.
A two-time NCAC Coach of the Year (1987, 1990), Sheehan’s Gators have qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament four times (1987, 1988, 1990, 1991), and compiled a remarkable 573-386 record, an average of nearly 23 wins per season. Allegheny has also been ranked among the nation’s top 20 four times and won four conference championships (1988-91).
Recent history has seen Sheehan’s squads produce achievements never before accomplished at the school. Her 2003 team put together an attack percentage of .317, ranking fifth in the nation at seasons’ end, and shattering the old school mark. That squad went on to set four team records that still stand, and setter Vicki Kajder became the third player under Sheehan to be tabbed as an All-American.
In addition to national recognition, 70 all-conference certificates have been handed out to Gators, including three-time NCAC Player of the Year Molly Dietz (1989-91), and 1987 NCAC Co-Player of the Year Carol Frederick. In 2004, Traci Stoner set a pair of firsts for the program becoming the first All-Great Lakes Region Player of the Year, and also being named the Great Lakes Region Newcomer of the Year that same year. In total Sheehan has mentored eight all-region honorees, and four of those honorees received all-region recognition multiple years.
Aside from coaching, Sheehan has been an active member in the volleyball community, serving as a member of several committees including the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III National Ranking Committee, the NCAA Division III All-America Committee, and the NCAA Regional Selection Committee.
Prior to coming to Allegheny Sheehan was a coach in the high school ranks, serving as an assistant volleyball coach at Maplewood High School from 1979-82 before she moved on to Cochranton High School where she served as a junior high school basketball coach from 1980-84, and the head volleyball and basketball coach from 1984-86.
Sheehan, who graduated from Slippery Rock University in 1977 with a degree in Economics, was a four-year starter in volleyball, and served as the team captain in her senior campaign. She also received a master’s degree in Sports Administration from her alma mater in 1990. In 2008, Sheehan was inducted into the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Career Notables
- 30th season
- 635-484 career record
- Ranks 12th in wins among active NCAA Div. III coaches and is 23rd by victories among winningest Div. III coaches all-time
- Allegheny's all-time winningest coach
- 1987 NCAA East Region Coach of the Year
- 1987, 1990 NCAC Coach of the Year
*Updated 5/25/16
