At a glance
For the second year in a row Alfred State College volleyball coach Gene Doorley has been named the American Volleyball Coaches Two-Year College Northeast-Southeast Region Coach of the Year. Doorley led the Lady Pioneers to their first trip to the NJCAA National Championships since 1977.
For the second year in a row Alfred State College volleyball coach Gene Doorley has been named the American Volleyball Coaches Two-Year College Northeast-Southeast Region Coach of the Year. Doorley led the Lady Pioneers to their first trip to the NJCAA National Championships since 1977.
After a historic 2006 season in which the Lady Pioneers won 32 out of their 35 matches and advanced to the Region III Division III finals, Doorley and the Lady Pioneers put together an even more impressive 2007 season.
The Blue and Gold started the season ranked in the NJCAA preseason poll and never fell out of it the whole season. The team reached as high as #5 in the rankings. The Lady Pioneers lost just two matches to Division III opponents and four matches overall during the regular season. They claimed tournament titles at Mohawk Valley CC, Onondaga CC, and Alfred State and finished 2nd in the WNYAC tournament. Doorley and his squad headed into the postseason with a 30-4 record and the #1 seed.
At the Regional tournament the Lady Pioneers didn't lose a game in winning the school's first Regional title since 1977. The perfect 5-0 run at Regionals punched the team's ticket to Rochester, MN for the National Championships.
Seeded #6 at the National Championships the Lady Pioneers played tough in pool play dropping three games by a score of 28-30. A-State saw their season come to an end with a 1-2 match record and a 5th place finish at Nationals. The team finished their historic season with a 36-6 record.
During the past two seasons, Doorley and the Lady Pioneer volleyball team led by a quartet of sophomores (Brianne McMahon, Elaina Braun, Shannon Jablonski, and Natalie Gregory) have a 68-9 overall record. The program has been back-to-back #1 seeds in the Regional Tournament, won seven regular season tournament titles, had two straight seasons of being ranked in the top ten of the NJCAA Division III poll, and ended the elusive 30-year quest for a trip to the National Championship.
Director of Athletics Kathy Feldman knows that the success of the program has come from a great deal of hard work from both the players and the coaching staff. "Gene is a tireless worker during the season and in the off-season. He trains his players in practice in preparation for what they will face in upcoming games. His players are tough physically and mentally. Gene also puts an emphasis not only on performing well on the court but in the classroom."
In Doorley's five years at the helm of the program the Pioneers are 106-55. He now has over 100 wins at both Alfred University (108-77) and Alfred State.
Earlier in the season, Doorley was named the NJCAA Division III District A Coach of the Year. Beth Domenico of Hagerstown was also honored as a Northeast-Southeast Coach of the Year. Both Doorley and Domenico along with the six other regional coaches of the year will be on the ballot for the National Two-Year Coach of the Year.