WATCH: Introductory Q&A With Head Coach Caitlin Schweihofer
BOSTON – Caitlin Schweihofer, the 2018 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, has been named the 10th head coach in Northeastern volleyball history, athletic director
Jeff Konya announced on Thursday. Schweihofer arrives at Northeastern from La Salle, where she served as the head coach for the previous five seasons.
"We believe that Caitlin is one of the elite coaches in the nation, and we're incredibly excited to have her at Northeastern," Konya said. "It was apparent to us throughout the national search that she is the person to bring our volleyball program to national prominence and establish a culture of excellence that our university and its constituents will gravitate towards and be proud of. Moreover, her emphasis on academics and leadership training aligns perfectly with our priorities and will serve us well as we strive to provide a distinctive student-athlete experience at Northeastern."
"It is truly an honor to join Northeastern University as the next head coach of the volleyball program," said Schweihofer. "I'd like to thank
Jeff Konya and
Regina Sullivan for the opportunity to lead this program at a tremendous institution. It was clear through the interview process that we have the support within the department to put the pieces in place to succeed here. I can't wait to get started and work with our dedicated student-athletes to take Northeastern volleyball to the next level."
Schweihofer led La Salle to its first-ever Atlantic 10 tournament appearance in 2018, guiding the Explorers to a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament to reach the conference semifinals. The team concluded the regular season at 17-11 overall, the most wins for the program since the 1998 season, while six student-athletes earned conference accolades including the Setter of the Year.
From 2015 to 2017, Schweihofer paced the squad to an eight-win improvement over the two-year span. Two of her freshman earned spots on the 2016 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team and, under Schweihofer's guidance, the team swept the La Salle Invitational and started the season with five straight wins in 2015, the best in program history. In her first season, Schweihofer led the team to a nine game improvement in the win column, which was tied for the third largest turnaround in program history.
Off the court, Schweihofer spearheaded a 650% increase in allocated fundraising in four years, including $40,000 for locker room renovations. She also recruited and coached the Atlantic 10 Setter of the Year as well as multiple all-conference and all-rookie selections.
Schweihofer came to La Salle from Lehigh, where she spent one season as the top assistant coach, helping the Mountain Hawks to a 20-9 record and 11-5 mark in the Patriot League. The 11 wins tied a school record for Patriot League victories and the 20 wins were the most by the program since 2002 and the sixth most in school history. Prior to Lehigh, she spent one season as an assistant at Bucknell.
Before entering the college circuit, Schweihofer was the head coach of Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford, Pa. She was the first coach in program history and led the team to two top 10 rankings in the state and a pair of PIAA District I runner-up finishes.
As a player, Schweihofer was the Big East Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year at St. John's in 2006 after captaining the Red Storm to a 31-5 overall record and undefeated 14-0 mark in conference play to capture the Big East Championship. St. John's was ranked as high as No. 24 in the national polls and advanced to the NCAA Second Round that season.
Schweihofer, who graduated in three years with a 3.9 GPA in communication science, was a Second Team All-Big East and First Team Academic All-District selection in 2006. She also was a three-time Academic All-Big East pick.
A native of Trooper, Pa., Schweihofer was an all-state selection at Villa Maria Academy. She graduated with a master's in educational leadership and higher education administration from Lehigh in May 2014.