Bob Weiner begins his 18th season as head coach of the Keene State College women's volleyball team in 2022 and has his sights set on maintaining their position as one of the top teams in the Little East Conference.
With the Owls finishing the 2021 season with a 17-13 record, Weiner has helped the team win at least 17 games in 17 of his 18 seasons at KSC. The only year where the Owls did not reach that mark was in 2020, where the season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2017, Weiner led the Owls to one of the most successful seasons in school history. Keene State established new program records for longest winning streak and best start to the season by winning their first 15 matches of the year, ultimately finishing 24-6 with a share of the Little East Conference regular season championship. Weiner also coached Rachel Lamica into the first volleyball All-American in program history. A year later, Wiener and the Owls finished 22-10 and reached the LEC final again, including a stunning 3-1 upset of three time defending champion UMass Boston in the semifinals.
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 when he was named LEC Coach of the Year and posted a program best 29-9 (6-0 LEC) in addition to capturing the program's first LEC title and NCAA berth.
Under the direction of Weiner, the Owls earned its first ever ECAC title in 2010. Weiner reached the 500 career wins in 2016 with the Owls' 3-2 win over Maine Maritime on the final day of the 2016 regular season. During his time at the helm of the program, 30 have been named All-Little East Conference, including Sarah Peterson who was voted Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and Angela Silveri who was named Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2013.
Set to begin his 34th season of collegiate coaching, Weiner came to Keene State after serving as the sports information director and head coach 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. He was named Keene State's full-time volleyball coach in the spring of 2011.
