Drew University Women's Volleyball

Julian Diaz will enter his third season as the head coach of the Drew University men's volleyball team in 2025-26. In 2025, Diaz led Drew to its first-ever postseason appearance, as the Rangers qualified for the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) playoffs in their first season competing in the conference. One year earlier, Diaz guided the Rangers to their most successful season up to that point. Drew finished the year with a 14-15 record, marking a five-win improvement over each of the team's first two seasons as a varsity program. The squad was particularly impressive on its home court, posting an 8-2 record in Baldwin Gym.   Diaz also served as an assistant coach for the Rangers during the 2023 season. In addition, he has gained extensive coaching experience over the last several years through numerous additional volleyball teams in the area.   Since 2021, Diaz has served as the head boys volleyball coach at Donald Payne Tech High School, where he has also worked as an assistant girls volleyball coach since 2020. He has also been the head coach for the 18s Boys VB Rags Volleyball Club team since 2022 as well as the director/head coach of the Rec It Volleyball Club since 2020. Additionally, Diaz has served as a director and head coach for Nike Volleyball Camps since 2020.   In 2022, Diaz was honored as one of just 18 recipients of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Diversity Award.   Diaz graduated from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.  

Amanda Rachwal will enter her second season as the head women's volleyball coach at Drew University in 2025-26. In her first year at the helm, Rachwal led the Rangers to a berth in the Landmark Conference Championship tournament. In addition, she guided one of her players to a spot on the All-Landmark Conference Team.   Rachwal came to The Forest after serving as an assistant coach at nearby Stevens Institute of Technology, where she helped lead the Ducks to a highly-successful two-year run. In addition, she was a standout Division I student-athlete at Seton Hall University. Over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Rachwal helped guide Stevens to a 46-10 record, including an unblemished 15-0 mark in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Conference play. The Ducks also captured back-to-back Freedom Conference titles, earning consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division III Championships. In both seasons, Stevens won its opening-round NCAA match to reach the second round.   In total, Rachwal coached four student-athletes who captured All-America honors at Stevens, including two who were also tabbed Freedom Conference Defensive Player of the Year.   In addition to her coaching stint at Stevens, Rachwal has also served as the head coach of the Digs Volleyball Club Team since 2022. She has gained additional experience as an assistant coach for the Stars and Stripes Beach Volleyball Club Team (2023-present), an assistant coach for the Velocity LV Boys Volleyball Club Team (2021), and a recruiting coordinator for the East Coast Power Volleyball Team (2020).   A native of Bethlehem, Pa., Rachwal turned in a tremendous five-year career as a middle blocker at Seton Hall, where she totaled 643 kills and 357 blocks across 110 career matches (415 sets). In her final year in South Orange, Rachwal ranked fourth in the Big East with a team-leading .324 attack percentage and ranked fifth in the conference with 1.13 blocks per set. A two-year team captain, she finished her time at Seton Hall ranked eighth in program history in career blocks and 10th in career hitting percentage (.281). Rachwal completed her undergraduate degree from Seton Hall in graphic design and advertising with a minor in web design and graphic design in 2021. She went on to receive a graduate certificate in information technology from Seton Hall in 2022.  

Cailyn Ross joined the Drew University women’s volleyball coaching staff prior to the 2024 season under first-year Head Coach Amanda Rachwal.   Ross currently serves as the assistant coach for the Impact Volleyball Club 18’s team, which qualified for AAU nationals in 2024. She has also been a coach and clinic director for CRUSH Volleyball since 2022.   Additionally, Ross held the post of assistant women’s volleyball coach for Union County Community College in 2023.   A Whitefish, Montana native, Ross competed for Kean University as an outside hitter from 2018-21. She helped the Cougars capture the New Jersey Athletic Conference title in 2018.   Ross graduated from Kean with a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design.