Kathleen Colpoys is entering her fourth season as head volleyball coach at Stonehill, returning to the College after serving as an assistant coach in 2012 following two years as a graduate assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire.

The 2018 season saw .500 action, as the team tallied a 11-11 overall mark and a 7-7 NE10 record. Senior Allyson Hughes '19 tallied her first NE10 All-Conference honor being named to the third team, while freshmen Lauren Wilke '22 and Abby Remick '22 earned All-Rookie accolades. SophomoreSophia Poveda '21 was named to the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar second team. Junior Rachel Dunlavy '20 earned the program's second CoSIDA Academic All-District first team award. 

Colpoys wrapped up her third year with her first winning record in the NE10, 8-6. She led the team to a fifth-place finish during the regular season with a mark of 12-15 overall. Colpoys also coached her first NE10 playoff birth, and first for the program since 2013. The Skyhawks made it to the semifinals, where they lost to the University of New Haven, 3-2. Senior Ashley Hitchcock '18 was tabbed on the NE10 All-Tournament team, while senior Katherine DeLanty '18 and Jessica Givens '21 were named to the NE10 All-Conference second team and All-Rookie Team, respectively. DeLanty was also named to the AVCA All-East Region team, Stonehill's first selection since 2014. 

She led the 2016-17 squad to a ninth-place finish in the NE10, wrapping up the year with a 7-7 mark in the conference and a 12-13 record overall. The 13-member team was awarded the AVCA All-Academic Award for maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average. 

Colpoys concluded her first year with the Skyhawks with an 11-15 overall mark and a 5-9 record in the NE10.

Colpoys returned to Stonehill after completing two years as graduate assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire under the long-time successful head coach Jill Hirschinger, helping lead New Hampshire to back to back America East Conference Championships in 2013 and 2014, with two NCAA Division I Tournament appearances. The Wildcats posted a record of 40-25 (.615), including an 23-3 (.885) mark in America East play, over her two seasons as an assistant in which the staff earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors from the Conference both years.

Colpoys was responsible for coaching New Hampshire’s blockers, assisted with practice planning, implementation and individual skill training, while also aiding in all phases of recruiting. She planned and managed all team travel, monitored first year student-athletes academic progress and transition to college and was also coordinator for UNH’s volleyball camps, while earning her Masters of Science in kinesiology with a concentration in sport studies at the University. Colpoys was also selected to participate at the NCAA’s Emerging Leaders Seminar this past January.

“I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to return to Stonehill as head coach of the volleyball program,” said Colpoys. “This athletic department does an excellent job of focusing on high athletic achievement while maintaining an emphasis on overall student-athlete development, including academic success. Coach Amundson succeeded in building this program up to where it is today as a contender within the Northeast-10 and East Region, and I look forward to continuing to improve upon this strong foundation.”

Colpoys served as assistant coach for former head coach Lauren Amundson during the 2012 season during which Stonehill reached the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament for the third straight year before dropping a five set thriller to top-seeded University of New Haven. Colpoys gained valuable experience at the College with practice planning and individual skill training, scouting opponents, developing game plans, assisting with game instruction and decisions, as well as recruiting. She overhauled the team’s blocking scheme, coaching two of the top ten blockers in the NE-10, Mary-Cate Catton ’15 (1.02 blocks/set) and Kirsten Arvidson ’14 (0.80). Colpoys was also co-director of the volleyball program’s popular Ace’s Girls Youth Development Program, which recently completed its fourth year, and was assistant director for Stonehill’s Volleyball Sports Camps.

Colpoys was a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater, College of the Holy Cross, following her four year playing career for the Crusaders. She served as head coach of the Mass Patriots volleyball club’s U-17 team one year in 2013 and has worked several camps and clinics throughout the northeast.

Colpoys, who received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Holy Cross in economics, was a four-year starter for the Crusaders and is the first student-athlete in program history to record over 700 kills and 200 blocks, collecting a pair of All-Tournament team accolades over the course of her career. She is a native of nearby Scituate, Massachusetts.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Kathleen back to Stonehill as our next volleyball head coach,” said Cindy MacDonald, Interim Director of Athletics upon her hiring. “Since serving as an assistant coach here three years ago, Kathleen became an integral part of a coaching staff at the University of New Hampshire which had success at both the academic and athletic level; both of these accolades will undoubtedly make her a great fit to now lead our program here at Stonehill. Kathleen’s energy and passion for the sport will be a driving force to the continued success of our Skyhawks on and off the court.”

	Overall				NE10
Year	W	L	Pct.		W	L	Pct.
2015	11	15	.423		5	9	.357
2016	12	13	.480		7	7	.500
2017	12	15	.444		8	6	.571	NE10 Semifinals
2018	11	11	.500		7	7	.500
Totals	46	54	.460		27	29	.482