Former Washington & Lee assistant Ray Costa named Marietta College's new volleyball coach
Costa eager to lead Pioneers on and off the court in 2007

March 19, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio — Former Washington & Lee assistant coach Ray Costa was hired Monday (March 19) as Marietta College's new head volleyball coach, according to Athletics Director Debbie Lazorik.

Costa is the tenth volleyball coach in the program's history. He replaces Tom Symons, who resigned in January after three seasons to pursue interests outside of athletics.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to join the Marietta College community," said Costa, who will officially arrive on campus in April. "I believe wholeheartedly in the experience that the College strives to offer everyone who is a part of it, and I look forward to helping the College and department achieve this vision."
 
Costa spent the last three seasons as the full-time assistant coach with Washington & Lee, located in Lexington, Virginia. During his time with the Generals, the volleyball program posted an 89-21 record. In 2006, the squad went 28-9, was undefeated in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Washington & Lee, like Marietta, was a recipient of the Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Award.

"We are excited to welcome Ray to our department," said Lazorik. "We are confident in his ability to maintain the progress of the volleyball program, both on and off the court."

Costa graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in secondary education—specializing in mathematics—from York College of Pennsylvania in 2004. He has served as the head coach for the Rockbridge County Juniors since 2005 and worked at a variety of volleyball camps over the past few summers.

During his time at York, Costa played four years of club volleyball and was the manager of the women's varsity team as a junior and senior. He acted as the club team president for three years, managing financial matters, organizing travel arrangements, scheduling practices and matches and serving as the team's representative. Costa was a player-coach as a sophomore and senior and the head coach during his junior year. In 2004, the club team was ranked No. 25 in Division II by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA).

Marietta will return a talented core of players, including five seniors—Marissa Barnhart, Jessica Craig, Casey Davis, Nikki Veigel and Paige Williams—from the 2006 squad that went 20-8, setting a new standard in the program for regular season winning percentage (.741). As a team, the Pioneers finished the year with the second-most solo blocks (163), the third-most block assists (282) and the fourth-most service aces (236) in school history.

"I believe that the current members of the team are an outstanding group of young ladies, and that their past accomplishments not only on the court but in the classroom and within the community clearly demonstrate their commitment to excellence," said Costa.

"I am also extremely excited to be a part of such a competitive volleyball conference in the OAC. Going out and competing against other quality programs every night in conference play will allow us to constantly challenge ourselves and help us develop the skills necessary to successfully compete with the best programs in D-III."

Marietta will open next fall at home with the 17th annual River City Volleyball Tournament August 31-September 1. The Pioneers are also scheduled to compete at tournaments in Defiance and York (Pa.) before jumping into the bulk of their Ohio Athletic Conference schedule.