Leanne Piscotty is in her 22nd season as the head volleyball coach at Shippensburg University in 2025.
Piscotty is the winningest coach in SU history as well as its longest-tenured. Her career record with the Raiders, entering 2025, is 426-249.
A four-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Coach of the Year (2004, 2007, 2012, 2013) and the 2015 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, Piscotty has directed Shippensburg to 16 winning seasons, 16 PSAC Tournament berths, 11 PSAC Semifinals appearances, the 2015 PSAC Championship, and eight NCAA Tournament appearances during her tenure. The 2015 conference title remains the only time SU has achieved the feat in school history.
Shippensburg has become a perennial conference and regional contender under Piscotty’s direction. SU qualified for 13 consecutive PSAC Tournaments from 2007-19 and five consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2015-19; by comparison, the Raiders qualified for the conference playoffs just twice in an eight-year span prior to her arrival.
All of SU’s NCAA Tournament appearances in school history have occurred during Piscotty’s tenure. The 2013 team recorded SU’s first-ever NCAA postseason victory, while the 2015 team qualified as the Atlantic Region’s No. 3 seed – SU’s highest tournament ranking in history.
Piscotty’s skilled recruiting has been evident in the fact that her players have totaled 50 All-PSAC classifications – including five PSAC Freshman of the Year honors and the 2013 PSAC Player of the Year (Jill Edwards). SU has had multiple All-PSAC players in all of Piscotty’s seasons at the helm of the Raiders.
Most recently, Piscotty has guided the Raiders to a 24-3 conference record over her last two seasons, as well as two PSAC Tournament berths -- reaching the semifinals in 2023. Contributing to the Raiders' success during that stretch, among others, has been two-time All-PSAC First Team and All-Region setter Kearstin Davis, 2024 PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year Shay Kolivoski and 2023 PSAC East Freshman of the Year Gracen Nutt.
Piscotty achieved her latest coaching milestone -- her 400th career-coaching victory -- on Oct. 28, 2022.
The 2019 season was a 26-win campaign in which Shippensburg qualified for the NCAA Atlantic Region Tournament as a No. 4 seed. Five Raiders earned All-PSAC honors – the most by the team in a single season in 12 years – and two Raiders earned AVCA All-Atlantic Region accolades. SU’s entered the NCAA Tournament with a veteran starting lineup that boasted a combined 4,062 career kills, 5,780 career digs and 1,103 career blocks.
The 2017 season featured Piscotty’s 300th career coaching victory on Sept. 2, 2017.
In 2015, Shippensburg had its best season in school history – matching the school record for victories (30) en route to winning the PSAC championship. The Raiders led Division II in total service aces (273) while ranking third in total digs (2,654) and eighth in total blocks (315.5). SU also held opponents to a .131 hitting percentage, which ranked the 16th-best rate in the country.
Several athletes have eclipsed school records under Piscotty’s tutelage. Jill Edwards, the best player in SU volleyball history, completed a storied run in 2014 with 2,062 kills – the second-most in PSAC history – along with 1,448 digs to become one of just eight players currently in SU’s 1,000-1,000 club.
Also among the group is Taylor Gottshall – who finished her career in 2015 as the PSAC’s all-time record holder for career block assists, totaling 476 in 147 career matches. She is one of just four players ever in PSAC history to total more than 600 total blocks.
During her first season at Shippensburg in 2004, Piscotty earned her first PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year award. The team went 21-15, earning first-place in the PSAC Eastern Division and finishing as a runner-up at the PSAC Tournament.
In 2006, Piscotty helmed an SU team that set the school record for victories before it was broken again the next year, finishing with a 24-13 record. The Raiders finished the 2006 season with a 14-4 record at Heiges Field House.
In 2007, Piscotty won her second PSAC East Coach of the Year award and led a Shippensburg squad that became the first team in program history to win 30 matches in a season. SU went undefeated in the PSAC Eastern Division for just the second time in school history and made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament after serving as the host of the PSAC Championships.
The 2008 campaign was full of milestones for Piscotty, who earned her 100th career coaching victory on September 6 and became the school’s career wins leader a week later. SU went 22-14 and reached the PSAC Semifinals. School records were broken by setter Maureen DuVall (career assists: 4,475) and libero Kelsi Hoffman (career digs: 2,155).
In 2012, Piscotty picked up her third PSAC East Coach of the Year award after guiding Shippensburg to a 27-12 record and its second NCAA Tournament appearance. The 27 wins ranked third in a single season at SU, as her team won 14 of its 19 conference matches during the regular season.
A year later, Piscotty repeated as the PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year after guiding the Raiders to the most conference victories (18) ever attained by a SU team in league play. The 2013 campaign featured 29 wins – the second-most in a single season – and the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history after SU swept UPJ in the Atlantic Region’s opening round.
Her 200th career coaching victory was achieved in September 2013 after guiding the Raiders to a 6-0 start – the first such streak since the inaugural 1980 season. During the year, SU also achieved a school-record winning streak of 12 matches.
Piscotty grew up in Shippensburg Township and excelled in high school sports with the local Greyhounds. A three-sport star, Piscotty was an All-State basketball player and was the 1989 state champion in the 300-meter hurdles on the track (45.05 seconds). To this day, she still holds the District 3 record in the 300-meter hurdles of 44.50 seconds. She was elected into the Shippensburg Area Senior High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
Following her graduation, Piscotty played for Penn State University from 1989-92 and was selected as an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First-Team All-American in 1991 and 1992. A two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection, Piscotty was named Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior in 1992 and was elected to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association (PVCA) Hall of Fame in 1993.
Her 1,274 total kills (3.31 per set) and 471 career blocks (1.22 per set) at Penn State all rank among the Top 20 in Lady Lion Volleyball history. She is currently ranked fifth all-time at Penn State in solo blocks (117).
The Lady Lions’ 44-1 record in 1990 – Piscotty’s sophomore year – still stands as the school record for wins in a season during which the team set the then-NCAA record for consecutive matches won. Penn State had 40 sweeps that year – an NCAA record as well.
Following her playing career, Piscotty spent two seasons as a student assistant coach from 1993-94 under her former coach, AVCA Hall of Famer Russ Rose. While there, she assisted in producing Penn State’s first two national semifinal appearances, including the program’s first-ever national championship appearance in 1993.
A member of the U.S. Olympic Festival team in 1990 and the 1993 U.S. National Team, Piscotty also played for the United States in the World University Games in 1993 and in the Italian Professional Volleyball League in 1994 and has played many years in the Chesapeake Bay Region in the Women’s United States Volleyball Association (USVA).
Also prior to Shippensburg, Piscotty worked as an assistant for two seasons at Bradley University. In her first season with the Braves, Piscotty was a part of a staff that produced the best single-season turnaround in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) history, improving the team from a 9-19 record in 1998 to a 20-6 record in 1999.
Piscotty earned her bachelor of science in Kinesiology from Penn State in 1997. She resides in Carlisle with her husband Dan and their rottweiler, Eva and Lexi.
Shippensburg University
Year Overall PSAC Postseason
2024 17-13 11-3 PSAC Quarterfinals
2023 23-9 13-1 PSAC Semifinals
2022 18-12 10-4 PSAC Quarterfinals
2021 13-16 6-8
2020 No season, COVID-19 pandemic
2019 26-7 17-2 NCAA First Round (#4 seed), PSAC Semifinals
2018 25-8 14-4 NCAA First Round (#4 seed), PSAC Semifinals
2017 21-12 13-5 NCAA First Round (#7 seed), PSAC Quarterfinals
2016 26-8 13-5 NCAA First Round (#6 seed), PSAC Quarterfinals
2015 30-9 16-6 NCAA First Round (#3 seed), PSAC Champions
2014 19-17 9-13 PSAC Semifinals
2013 29-10 18-4 NCAA Second Round (#4 seed), PSAC Semifinals
2012 27-12 14-5 NCAA First Round (#6 seed), PSAC Semifinals
2011 15-21 8-11 PSAC Quarterfinals
2010 19-16 9-10 PSAC Quarterfinals
2009 16-19 8-11 PSAC Semifinals
2008 22-16 8-4 PSAC Semifinals
2007 30-12 10-0 NCAA First Round, PSAC Semifinals
2006 24-13 5-5
2005 22-17 6-4
2004 21-15 8-2 PSAC Finals
Total 443-262 156-104 8 NCAA Tournaments, 16 PSAC Tournaments
