Bridget Sheehan -- Head Coach

Contact: bridget.sheehan@allegheny.edu
814-332-2822

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, leading the Gators to regional and national recognition on multiple occasions. In her third decade at the school, Sheehan has high hopes of leading her team back to the top tier of the North Coast Athletic Conference and onto the national scene.

Under the direction of the two-time NCAC Coach of the Year (1987, 1990), the Gators have qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament four times (1987, 1988, 1990, 1991) and compiled a remarkable 521-313 record, an average of nearly 25 wins per season. Allegheny has also been ranked among the nation’s top 20 four times and won four conference championships (1988-91).

Perhaps Sheehan’s finest hour as Allegheny’s coach came in her second year at the helm when she led the 1987 squad to a 42-5 record, including a school-record 37 straight wins en route to the first appearance in the national tournament for the program. For an encore the 1988 team followed with a record of 44-9 and captured its first NCAC Championship, which marked the beginning of a four-year reign at the top of the conference.

Recent history has Sheehan’s squads produce achievements never before accomplished at the school. The 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, and setter Vicki Kajder was tabbed an All-American, the third national honor bestowed upon a player under Sheehan’s tutelage.

In addition to national recognition, 55 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, Allegheny had its first All-East Region Player of the Year selection in Rookie of the Year Traci Stoner, one of 13 all-region honorees during Sheehan’s tenure.

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 as a senior. She also received a master’s degree in sports administration from her alma mater in 1990.

• 22nd season
• 521-313 (.625) career record
• ranks 51st in win percentage and eighth in wins among active NCAA Div. III coaches
• Allegheny's all-time winningest coach
• 1987 NCAA East Region Coach of the Year
• 1987, 1990 NCAC Coach of the Year

Allison Gordon -- Assistant Coach

Contact: allison.gordon@allegheny.edu
814-332-6268

Allison Gordon, a native of Guys Mills, Pa., enters her first season as the assistant volleyball coach at Allegheny College.

Gordon, a 2006 graduate of Lock Haven University, was a four-year member of the Lady Eagle volleyball team. She led the squad in assists in both 2003 and 2005. In 2006, she served as the squad’s co-captain, in addition to being presented with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Scholar Athlete Award.

Gordon graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education. Post-collegiately she served on the coaching staff at Maplewood High School while also serving as a full-time substitute teacher at Meadvile Area
Middle School.