Bob Weiner's eighth season as head coach of the Keene State College women's volleyball team might be his most challenging and rewarding.  With the loss of his entire starting line-up, Weiner will look to mold the talents of four returnees and 11 newcomers into a cohesive unit that will continue as one of the top programs in the region and Little East Conference.

Weiner knows a thing or two about building a program. Taking over the reins of the Keene State team in 2005, Weiner led the Owls into uncharted territory. Directing the Owls to a first-ever appearance in the 2005 LEC championship match, he then coached KSC to back-to-back, 25-victory seasons and ECAC tournament ap­pearances as well as a first-ever LEC regular season title in 2007. Weiner and the Owls served up an unforgettable 2008 season, posting a program best 29-9 (6-0 LEC) and capturing the LEC title and NCAA berth. 

Under the direction of Weiner,  the Owls have advanced to post-season play five of the past seven  seasons, earning ther program's first ever LEC championship in 2008 and ECAC title in 2010. Last season, KSC posted a 19-14 record, advancing to the semifinals of the LEC and ECAC tournaments.  Weiner reached the 400 career win milestone last fall with the Owls' 3-1 win over Rhode Island College in the semifinals of the LEC tournament.

Weiner's record at Keene State stands at  160-90 (.640 winning pct.) , including an impressive 36-11 mark in conference play. "This is a great place to coach," said Weiner. "Once we started to build the program and win, athletes wanted to come here and play."

Set to begin his 25th season of collegiate coaching, Weiner, who has an overall career record of 401-358, came to Keene State after serving as the sports information director at Pine Manor College. He held the position of head women's volleyball coach at Iona (N.Y.) College, As­sumption College, Montana State-Northern University, Macalester (Minn.) Col­lege, and Franklin Pierce College. During his four-year stint at Iona, his teams compiled a 74-51 record. He was named the 2002 Metro Atlantic Coach of the Year after leading the Gaels to a first-place finish in the conference. At Macal­ester, Weiner turned around a team, playing in the highly competitive Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference.  As the first varsity coach at Franklin Pierce, Weiner led the 1992 and 1993 Ravens to ECAC tournament berths.

Weiner, co-founder of the Hardrock Junior Olympic Volleyball Club in New Hampshire, holds a bachelor's degree in theatre from UCLA and a master's in fine arts from the University of California-Irvine.  In addition to his volleyball duties, he also teaches in the KSC communication department and was named the full-time volleyball coach in the spring of 2011.

Weiner said he’s excited about the change in status and looking forward to giving more time to the program.  “During the past six years, I’ve also taught a full academic load,” he said.  “I was doing a full-time job in addition to my coaching responsibilities.  This will allow me to focus on my job as coach of the Keene State women’s volleyball team and I am excited about that.”

After being a student assistant for two years, Bre Redding begins her third season as assistant coach with the Owls this fall.  Redding, a defensive specialist with the team in 2006 and 2007, will be a valuable asset on the bench and practice court, passing on her knowledge and love of the game to the players. She has also created and implemented the Owls workout programs. 

Looking to coach at the college level, Redding has worked for three years with Coach Weiner and the Hard Rock Club team and last season with the Central Massachusetts Junior Olympic program.

Prior to joining the KSC program, Redding played at Medway (Mass.) High where she was twice named the team's top defender and earned league all-star honors as a senior.

Redding will also be working under Sarah Testo as a Strength and Conditioning coach for Keene State throughout the year.

No stranger to the Keene State volleyball propgram, Kristen Roach beings her third year on Coach Weiner's staff.  She was also an assistant coach for the Owls during the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

In between her  time at Keene State, Mullins served as the head coach at Turner Falls (Mass.) High School from 2005-2009.

Mullins completed her four-year Owl career (1999-02), leading the team in service aces (75) and digs (320) and earning second-team All-LEC honors.  The Turners Falls native previously tied the KSC with 16 service aces against Fitchburg State and the record for most digs (1,050).

One of the top high school coaches in New Hampshire, Chuck Roberson enters his eighth season as an Owl assis­tant coach.

A three-time Class I coach of the year, Roberson coached Milford to back-to-back state titles in 2001 and 2002.

It's not the first time Roberson will be working with Coach Weiner. They both helped to form the first junior Olympic program in the state and have served as occasional advisor with each other's team. "Bob and I have a mutual trust that we've developed over the years," he said. "We both have the same defensive and passing philosophy."

Roberson, a Western Connecticut grad, is originally from Greenwich, N.Y.