Vanessa Volpe-Rivera begins her ninth season as head women’s volleyball coach at The College of Saint Rose in 2023-24.
The Golden Knights, winners of 10+ games for nine consecutive autumns (2011-2019), have led the Northeast-10 Conference in blocking for the past three years (2017, 2018, 2019).
Volpe-Rivera, who has coached both a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American®, Tina Ceriello '20, and an NE10 Elite 24 Award Winner, Megan Mayer '22, guided Saint Rose to its first NE10 Championship Tournament appearance since 2015 in 2018.
Ceriello, the 2019 NE10 Libero of the Year, was named second-team D2CCA All-East and twice voted second-team All-NE10. In 2018, middle hitter Shayna Webber '19 earned first-team D2CCA All-East honors, an honorable mention for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Region Team, and first-team All-NE10 accolades.
In her first season at the helm, 2016, outside hitter MaryEllen Devic '17 received an honorable mention for the ACVA All-East Region Team and was named second-team All-NE10.
Volpe-Rivera, promoted to the role on April 4, 2016, spent the previous three seasons working as an assistant for former head coach Brian Goodale, who stepped down after 17 years at the helm. The Golden Knights posted a .653 winning percentage (49-26) and qualified for the NE10 Championship Tournament in each of those campaigns, including a semifinal run in 2014 when they garnered the program’s third-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
Volpe-Rivera carries a pronounced background of coaching experience within the Capital Region. Most recently, she spent her summers as the Assistant Director of the World Volleyball Training Center Camp in Huguenot, and was the head coach of the Lakeside Volleyball Club out of Burnt Hills from 2009-2016. She served as an assistant coach at Hudson Valley Community College from 2011-13, a junior varsity head coach at Voorheesville High School from 2005-11, and as the North Country Albany Junior U16 head coach from 2007-09.
She remains an active indoor club player through USA Volleyball and is a USA Volleyball official. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Excelsior Empire Regional Volleyball Association.
Volpe-Rivera began her tenure with the Golden Knights program as a student manager for her first three years. As a senior in 2004, she played in 31 of the team’s 33 matches while helping Saint Rose finish with a 20-13 record.
Volpe holds both a master’s degree in science in literacy and a bachelor’s degree in childhood education from Saint Rose. She resides in Green Island with her husband, John and daughters, Isabella and Rylee.
