Former Boston College head coach Andrea Leonard is starting her first season as a member of the the San Diego State volleyball coaching staff, a position she assumed in March of this year. Leonard resigned her post at BC last December to pursue other opportunities.
[quote]I am very excited to be here at SDSU and to have an opportunity to work with Deitre,[quote] commented Leonard. [quote]She is an incredible coach with a history of success as both a player and coach. I look forward to learning more from her and her staff, as well as being a part of an up and coming program.[quote]
Leonard spent eight seasons at Boston College where she led BC to its first 20-win season in program history and first postseason appearance in the Big East in 11 years. She also took the Eagles to their first winning record in Big East Conference play.
Prior to Boston College, Leonard had a five-season tenure with the University of New Hampshire, where she led the Wildcats to several postseason appearances. Under Leonard[apos]s guidance as an associate head coach in 2002, UNH went 23-11 winning the America East Conference Championship and made an NCAA tournament appearance.
She has also played many roles as an assistant coach, serving as an AVCA Assistant Coaches Committee member, and as an AVCA Co-Chair. While at UNH, Leonard served as recruiting coordinator, academic coordinator and an NCAA Compliance coordinator while serving as associate head coach.
Prior to her stint at New Hampshire, Leonard served as an assistant coach at Ferris State University and at her alma mater, Northern Michigan.
During the summer of 2003, Leonard coached with Bring It Promotions and two teams from the U.S. in the fourth Annual Sibillini Tournament in Comunanza, Italy. Leonard[apos]s Under-20 American team competed against teams from the Czech Republic, Slavia Bratislava, Slovakia, and Hungary and finished a strong third in the tournament.
Leonard is a 1991 graduate of Northern Michigan University. A four-year scholarship player, Leonard was a setter and an outside hitter. In her junior and senior year, NMU took home the Greater Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship and made the NCAA Elite Eight (1993).