Swarthmore College Women's Volleyball

Chwastyks charges set new program watermarks for best conference finish and five postseason ECAC tournament appearances. Her peers within the conference recognized Chwastyk by naming her the Centennial Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons (2009, 2010). Through dedicated recruiting efforts, Chwastyk has brought players from 18 states to campus. Twenty-two of her players have been placed on the all-conference list and Genny Pezzola 12 was an AVCA All-Region selection. The 2012 season marked the first time two Garnet players - Allie Coleman '13 and Kat Montemurro '13 - were All-Centennial First Team selections. The student-athletes at a demanding academic setting have responded, earning the AVCA Team Academic Award (team grade point average is above 3.3) nine times while accumulating 35 academic all-conference selections, five CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, and two Academic All-Area Performer of the Year awards. Chwastyk is the current chair of the Centennial Conference volleyball coaches committee and represents the 11-member Division III conference in several aspects: ECAC championship selection committee, an AVCA national poll voter, and most recently chaired the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III All-America Awards committee.  At Swarthmore, one of the top private liberal arts colleges in the country, Chwastyk is an active participant in the College community. She is the coordinator of the Physical Education program within the Athletics Department and, as an instructor, introduced to the student body Pilates and Orienteering classes. Her committee work on campus is extensive, serving on the steering committee in the Physical Education & Athletics department review, the Swarthmore Foundation, Garnet Hall of Fame Nominating Committee and the Physical Education & Athletics Advisory Committee. Prior to Swarthmore, Coach Chwastyk was an assistant at Smith (Mass.) College from 2000-02 for two years while she completed a Master of Science degree in exercise and sport studies.  Her head coaching resume includes stints with the mens club program at Swarthmore, the Liberty Belles Volleyball Club 17-under team and the boys junior varsity program at Conard (Conn.) High School. Her summer technician docket sees Chwastyk as camp director of the Chwastyk Volleyball Camps at Swarthmore (http://www.chwastykvolleyballcamps.com) and the Cape Cod Volleyball Camp run by legendary Barnstable (Mass.) High School two-time national coach of the year Tom Turco. Chwastyks collegiate playing career saw her serve as the two-year captain of the Trinity (Conn.) College volleyball team, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 2000.  An All-NESCAC performer in 1999, Chwastyk still holds three blocking records at Trinity. A two-sport athlete, Chwastyk was a forward on the Bantams womens basketball team that captured the ECAC New England Championship in 2000. Over the years, Chwastyk also captained the Adirondack team in the Empire State Games and made the adult club circuit with various USA Volleyball teams. An ardent believer in community and service, Chwastyks most recent endeavor is serving as co-director of the Snell-Shillingford Coaching Symposium (), an opportunity for undergraduate female student-athletes to explore career and leadership opportunities in athletics. After serving as a participant and a coach in the Cathy DApice Memorial Volleyball tournament in an effort to aid breast cancer research, Chwastyk started a similar effort within the Centennial Conference in 2006 with the Dig for a Cure service project. To date, the now-conference wide effort has raised over $50,000. Chwastyk resides in nearby Rutledge, Pa. with her husband, David, and their son, Logan (5), and daughter, Calleigh (2).

HIGHLIGHTS Coached at Swarthmore since 2002 Reached NCAA National Quarterfinals in 2017 Highest national ranking #18 (11/22/2017) Career record of 358-263 (.576 win percentage) Centennial Conference Coach of the Year: 2022 10 consecutive Centennial Conference postseasons Played volleyball and basketball collegiately at Trinity (Conn.) The Swarthmore volleyball program has been under the direction of Harleigh (Leach) Chwastyk since 2002, and she has guided the program to a record of 358-263 during that time. Swarthmore has qualified for the Centennial Conference postseason 15 times, including each of the past 10 seasons. Swarthmore appeared in eight consecutive ECAC tournaments and won the championship matches in 2015 and 2016. The Garnet have advanced as far as the NCAA Elite Eight in 2017. The Garnet, ranked as high as No. 18 nationally that year, took home the regional crown with wins over Randolph-Macon and nationally-ranked Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins. Swarthmore made another NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022. Coach Chwastyk reached the 200-win mark early in the 2015 season followed by #300 in 2021. She has the most in school history, and the fourth-most wins in the Centennial Conference. The 2012 season was highlighted by a program-first win over a nationally-ranked opponent, No. 10 Eastern University, and received votes in the AVCA top 25 national poll. Chwastyk’s charges set new program watermarks for best conference finish and five postseason ECAC tournament appearances. Her peers within the conference recognized Chwastyk by naming her the Centennial Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons (2009, 2010) and again in 2014. Through dedicated recruiting efforts, Chwastyk has brought players in from all over the United States and the globe. Fourty-six of her players have landed on the all-conference lists, and three, Sarah Wallace '18, Emma Morgan-Bennett '20 and Mehra den Braven '20, have earned All-America recognition. The 2015 season marked the first time three Garnet players - Sam DuBois '16, Sarah Girard '19 and Wallace - were All-Centennial First Team selections. The student-athletes at a demanding academic setting have responded, and from 2016 to 2019, all eligible members of the team qualified for the Centennial Academic Honor Roll by having a GPA of 3.4 or higher. The team has earned the AVCA Team Academic Award (team grade point average is above 3.3) 18 times, including 15 consecutively, and has accumulated 13 CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-District selections, one Academic All-American (den Braven) and 15 PhillySIDA Academic All-Area members. Chwastyk is the current chair of the Centennial Conference volleyball coaches’ committee and represents the 11-member Division III conference in several aspects: ECAC championship selection committee, an AVCA national poll voter, and most recently chaired the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III All-America Awards committee.  At Swarthmore, one of the top private liberal arts colleges in the country, Chwastyk is an active participant in the College community. She is the coordinator of the Physical Education program within the Athletics Department and, as an instructor, introduced to the student body Pilates and Orienteering classes. Her committee work on campus is extensive, serving on the steering committee in the Physical Education & Athletics’ department review, the Swarthmore Foundation, Garnet Hall of Fame Nominating Committee and the Physical Education & Athletics Advisory Committee. Prior to Swarthmore, Coach Chwastyk was an assistant at Smith (Mass.) College from 2000-02 for two years while she completed a Master of Science degree in exercise and sport studies.  Her head coaching resume includes stints with the men’s club program at Swarthmore, the Liberty Belles Volleyball Club 17-under team and the boys’ junior varsity program at Conard (Conn.) High School. Her summer technician docket sees Chwastyk as camp director of the Chwastyk Volleyball Camps at Swarthmore and the Cape Cod Volleyball Camp run by legendary Barnstable (Mass.) High School two-time national coach of the year Tom Turco. Chwastyk’s collegiate playing career saw her serve as the two-year captain of the Trinity (Conn.) College volleyball team, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 2000. An All-NESCAC performer in 1999, Chwastyk still holds three blocking records at Trinity. A two-sport athlete, Chwastyk was a forward on the Bantams’ women’s basketball team that captured the ECAC New England Championship in 2000. Over the years, Chwastyk also captained the Adirondack team in the Empire State Games and made the adult club circuit with various USA Volleyball teams. An ardent believer in community and service, Chwastyk’s most recent endeavor is serving as co-director of the Snell-Shillingford Coaching Symposium, an opportunity for undergraduate female student-athletes to explore career and leadership opportunities in athletics. After serving as a participant and a coach in the Cathy D’Apice Memorial Volleyball tournament in an effort to aid breast cancer research, Chwastyk started a similar effort within the Centennial Conference in 2006 with the Dig for a Cure service project. To date, the now-conference wide effort has raised over $50,000. Chwastyk resides in nearby Rutledge, Pa. with her husband, David, and their son, Logan, and daughter, Calleigh.     Overall Conference Team Year W L Win % W L Win % Postseason Swarthmore 2002 5 21 .192 1 9 .100 Swarthmore 2003 14 18 .438 5 5 .500 Swarthmore 2004 9 18 .333 2 8 .200 Swarthmore 2005 13 15 .464 6 4 .600 Centennial First Round Swarthmore 2006 12 13 .480 3 7 .300 Swarthmore 2007 9 18 .333 4 6 .400 Swarthmore 2008 6 19 .240 2 8 .200 Swarthmore 2009 19 11 .633 6 4 .600 Centennial Semifinals; ECAC Quarterfinals Swarthmore 2010 20 12 .625 7 3 .700 Centennial Runner-Up; ECAC Semifinals Swarthmore 2011 24 8 .750 7 3 .700 Centennial First Round; ECAC Semifinals Swarthmore 2012 20 7 .741 8 2 .800 Centennial Semifinals; ECAC Semifinals Swarthmore 2013 17 14 .548 3 7 .300 ECAC Semifinals Swarthmore 2014 24 8 .750 9 1 .900 Centennial Semifinals; ECAC Semifinals Swarthmore 2015 22 9 .710 8 2 .800 Centennial Semifinals; ECAC Champions Swarthmore 2016 27 5 .844 8 2 .800 Centennial Runner-Up; ECAC Champions Swarthmore 2017 24 8 .750 8 2 .800 Centennial Runner-Up; NCAA Elite Eight Swarthmore 2018 14 10 .583 7 3 .700 Centennial Semifinals Swarthmore 2019 16 12 .571 6 4 .600 Centennial Semifinals Swarthmore 2021 13 8 .619 8 2 .800 Centennial Semifinals Swarthmore 2022 17 9 .654 9 1 .900 Centennial Semifinals; NCAA First Round Swarthmore 2023 16 10 .615 8 2 .800 Centennial Semifinals Swarthmore 2024 17 10 .630 8 2 .800 Centennial Runner-Up Total 22 seasons 358 263 .576 133 87 .605

Linda Zhang began coaching with the Garnet as an assistant coach in 2017. She was elevated to associate head coach in 2022. Zhang is a 2008 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics.  She was the four-year starting setter for Penn, and earned Honorable Mention All-Ivy honors as a sophomore and Second Team All-Ivy honors as a senior.  At Penn, Zhang finished her freshman season with the highest hitting percentage in the conference as a setter.  During her senior year, she helped lead Penn to a second-place finish in the Ivy League and became the fourth Quaker ever to record at least 3,000 assists in a career. During her senior year at Portage Northern High School, Zhang finished sixth out of 12 finalists in the voting for the 2004 Michigan Miss Volleyball Player of the Year as voted on by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA) and the Detroit Free Press.   Prior to joining Swarthmore’s staff, Zhang served as a volunteer assistant coach at Immaculata University for the 2016 season. She has also coached with Delaware United Volleyball Club for the last two years, and will be continuing her third season this upcoming spring. Zhang also helps with the Delaware United camps and clinics during the summer.  Prior to coaching at Delaware United, Zhang coached for two years with SC Midlands Volleyball Club in South Carolina and where she also helped run the setters positional practices.   Zhang currently resides and works in Wilmington, Del.