Jeff Costa Named Rivier Women's Volleyball Head Coach

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of Rivier Athletics Communications

NASHUA, N.H. - The Rivier University Athletics Department announced on Monday that alumni and assistant men's volleyball coach Jeff Costa will take over as the new women's volleyball coach. 

"We are so happy to have Jeff re-join the Rivier Volleyball family as the women's head coach, said Athletics Director Joanne Merrill. "As an alumnus and a former two-sport Raider student-athlete (Volleyball and Soccer), Jeff is ready to lead the women's program into the new post-(Craig) Kolek era and to continue the team's tradition of excellence and success." 

Coach Costa was most recently working with former head coachh Craig Kolek, who stepped down from the women's side to focus on the men's volleyball program and other roles within the department. This marks the first time in over 20 years that each program will have its own head coach.  

Coach Kolek had this to say about his successor: "His background and success at building consistent and high achieving programs at all levels will help Rivier continue the tradition of success that has already been established here. His work ethic and demeanor combined with his knowledge of the sport will give our student-athletes a truly unique and fulfilling athletic experience."

Coach Costa brings years of experience on both the men's and women's side of the sport. He most recently was the Beach Director and 18U travel head coach at Mill City Volleyball from 2015 to 2021. Also during that time, he coached Windham's junior varsity program and earned New Hampshire Volleyball Association JV Coach of the Year in 2018.

Costa's collegiate coaching career started in 2011 when he was named the head coach of Lesley University's men's volleyball program. Coach Costa then started as an assistant during the 2015 and 2016 seasons at Merrimack and then moved up to head coach of the program in 2017. He was the head coach at Merrimack College during the transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I in 2019.

During his time at Merrimack, Costa coached some of the top individual student-athletes to come through the program. He guided Madison Burke '16 to an all-conference campaign and Tara Stuhr to become the second setter at Merrimack to reach 4,000 career assists. 2017 was the first 40-plus ace season for a Warrior Mary Kate McCarroll in the previous seven years. Christina Nye '17 finished among the program leaders in career digs with just shy of 1,000. His recruiting classes were among the largest for the program since 2011.

"I want to thank Joanne Merrill, Coach Kolek, the athletics department, President Paula Marie Buley and the rest of the Rivier community for this amazing opportunity," said Costa. "I am looking forward to guiding the women's program and continuing to transform the hearts and minds of our student-athletes to serve the world." 

Coach Costa grew up and still resides in Methuen, Mass. with his wife Ashley and their two dogs, Goose and Bella. He was a dual-sport athlete and captain of the soccer and volleyball teams at MHS (2001) and Rivier (2005). Coach Costa graduated from Rivier College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. He was a part of four consecutive NECVA New England Championship teams and made an appearance in the 2004 NECVA Championship game during his time at Riv.

"It is a privilege, and I am honored to be a part of the Rivier volleyball family," added Costa. "I am excited to lead the women's program into this next chapter. My time as a student-athlete at Rivier was life-altering. The RIV family has been a consistent part of my life ever since. I am excited, grateful, and humbled to continue familiar traditions and create some exciting new ones as the Head coach of the women's program."

The women's volleyball team's season is set to start on September 2nd at Springfield College, with the first serve coming at 7:30 PM. Their first home match is a tri-match on September 10th against Wellesley at 11:00 AM and Castleton University at 3:00 PM.