Volleyball Coaching Staff
Head Coach Phil Pisano
Phil Pisano is in his sixth year as
head coach of the Behrend Lions. Since Pisano’s arrival, the Behrend Lions
are 115-48 overall with a stellar 42-3 mark in the AMCC. During that time,
12 career or single-season records have been set as the blue and white have
earned 23 selections to the all-conference team and 26 academic
all-conference honors. Pisano has also been named AMCC Coach of the Year in
2005, 2006, and 2008.
His 2008 squad went 25-9 and captured the program’s first ever ECAC
championship, defeating Cabrini in the finals in Baltimore, Maryland to take
the ECAC South Championship. The team also won the AMCC regular season
title and finished the season with wins in ten of its final 11 matches.
In 2007 the blue and white finished with an 18-12 overall record and
advanced to the AMCC semifinals. The team captured a share of the AMCC
regular season title with an 8-1 conference record.
His 2006 squad set a school record
for wins, and captured a second straight AMCC regular season title with an
overall mark of 29-4. The blue and white earned an ECAC bid and reached the
tournament championship match, along the way earning the first postseason
wins ever for the program.
In 2005 the blue and white captured the AMCC Championship and reached the
NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. Behrend finished with a record of
26-8, including an impressive 9-0 mark in AMCC competition.
In 2003 Pisano served as an assistant coach with the Behrend Lions. In addition, he coached at Slippery Rock as an assistant to the women's volleyball coach from 1998-2003. He was also the coach and president of the SRU men's volleyball club team for three years while earning his undergraduate degree in marketing from the Rock.
Pisano currently serves on the AVCA Division III Head Coaches Committee and has previously served on the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Volleyball Regional Advisory Committee. He continues to participate in a variety of volleyball camps and clinics throughout the year.
Pisano completed his MBA from Behrend in 2005. In addition to his coaching duties, he serves as a lecturer in the health and physical education department and works as an assistant in the sports information office.
E-mail Head Coach Phil Pisano: pap174@psu.edu
Assistant Coach Gerry Vensel
Gerry Vensel begins her sixth season as a member of the Behrend Lions volleyball staff.
Vensel brings a wealth of collegiate coaching experience to the Behrend Lions program. Since 1987 she has directed the State Champs Volleyball Camps, and previously spent nine years as the head coach of the Gannon Golden Knights. While guiding the Gannon program she led the team to an impressive 271-61 record, three NCAA regional championships and three Elite Eight appearances. She has continued working with high school and college programs since her stint at Gannon. Vensel, a three-time Coach of the Year, was also inducted into the Edinboro University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Vensel earned an undergraduate degree
from Edinboro and MBA from Gannon.
Assistant Coach Paige Payer
Paige
Payer returns to the Behrend coaching staff for her second season in 2009.
A season ago Payer helped Behrend earn its first ever ECAC Volleyball
Championship. Payer also produced a standout playing career for the team
from 2003-2006. She was a three year starter and important team leader
playing as a right side hitter. Payer was a big contributor on the 2005
AMCC Championship and NCAA Tournament squad as well as the 2006 team that
reached the ECAC Championship Match. Payer played in 305 games during her
career and posted 303 kills and 130 total blocks while being named to the
AMCC academic all-conference team.
Payer was the John Zahniser Scholar Athlete Award winner for Behrend athletics after the 2006-2007 year. She graduated from Behrend in 2006 with a degree in communications and completed her Master’s in Education at Mercyhurst College in 2009.
Assistant Coach Julie Koman
Julie Koman begins her first season as a member of the Behrend Lions volleyball staff.
Koman is no stranger to Behrend athletics, as she wrapped up a stellar playing career for the softball team in 2009. Koman was an all-region pitcher for the blue and white and was named as the AMCC pitcher of the year four straight seasons. She finished as the career record holder at Behrend in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and complete games. Behind her outstanding play the Behrend Lions won three AMCC titles in four seasons, advancing to three NCAA Tournaments. Koman was also named as the Behrend Female Athlete of the Year for 2008-09.
Koman graduated in May of 2009 with a degree in marketing and is now working toward her MBA at Behrend.