Stephanie Albano

Title

Head Coach
Email

salbano@daemen.edu
Phone

(716) 566-7893
Daemen Tenure

2016-Present (6th Season)
Record @ Daemen

76-50, 38-14 ECC
Career Record

76-50, 38-14 ECC
Alma Mater

UNC-Chapel Hill '09

A rising star on the college volleyball landscape, Stephanie Albano was named the eighth head coach in the history of the Daemen women's volleyball program on May 5, 2016, and she enters her sixth season at the helm in 2021. Over her first five seasons, Albano has led Daemen to a 76-50 overall record, a pair of East Coast Conference regular season championships, two NCAA tournament berths and one conference tournament title. The two-time East Coast Conference Coach of the Year has guided the Wildcats to wins in a staggering 73 percent of their regular season conference matches, as well as a 63-26 record against NCAA Division II East Region opponents.

In her inaugural season in the head coach's chair, Albano led the Wildcats to one of the most successful seasons in team history, going 25-8 overall and 13-1 in East Coast Conference play to capture the league's regular season championship. After finishing as the ECC Tournament runners-up, Albano's squad earned the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth, entering as the No. 2 seed in the East Regional portion of the tourney which was hosted at Daemen's Lumsden Gymnasium. Albano led the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, a 3-2 thriller over seventh-seeded Post on Dec. 1, 2016. One night later, Albano and the Wildcats moved past third-seeded New Haven with a 3-0 victory. Their history-making 2016 season came to an end in the regional finals, falling 3-2 to fourth-seeded American International.

For her efforts, Albano was named the 2016 ECC Coach of the Year. She was also named the 2016 NCAA Division II East Region Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). The AVCA also named coach Albano as one of its 30 Under 30 Award recipients in the spring of 2017, recognizing coaches under the age of 30 for their contributions to the game.

After missing out on the postseason in 2017 when the team placed fifth in the ECC standings, Albano led the Wildcats back to glory in 2018, capturing her second ECC Coach of the Year award along the way. The Wildcats rattled off nine-straight wins to open conference play, and finished with a 13-1 ECC mark to earn the regular season title. For the second time in three years, the ECC Tournament came to Lumsden Gymnasium, and this time Daemen sealed the deal, defeating fourth-seeded Bridgeport in the semifinals (3-1), followed by a 3-1 defeat of second-seeded and defending ECC champion Molloy in the finals. The Wildcats would go on to enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the East Region, but their season came to an end with a 3-0 loss to No. 6 American International who went on to claim the regional crown.

In 2019, Albano guided the Wildcats to a third ECC Tournament berth, finishing third in the conference standings with a 5-5 mark. The Wildcats closed the campaign at 16-12 overall following a loss to Bridgeport in the ECC Tournament semifinals.

The 2020-21 academic year brought a new set of challenges which Albano met head on. The team's traditional fall season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Albano rallied her troops as the team put together a shortened and countable season played during the Spring 2021 semester. After opening with three consecutive setbacks, Albano led the team to three straight victories to close the unorthodox season with an even 3-3 mark.

Albano has coached players responsible for 11 all-conference selections, including five on the All-ECC First Team. She's also aided in the development of an ECC Player of the Year (Ashley Drzymala - 2016), an ECC Rookie of the Year (Bailey Dolegowski - 2016) and an ECC Co-Setter of the Year (Isa McCaffrey - 2018).

Before ascending to the head coaching position, Albano spent one season (2015) as the associate head coach on the Daemen staff under then-head coach Bob Maxwell. The duo oversaw marked improvement as the Wildcats increased their win total from two in 2014 to 12 a year later.

Albano came to Daemen from the University at Buffalo where she served as an assistant on coach Reed Sunahara's staff in 2014. In her one season on the Bulls' staff, Albano helped the team to a 17-15 overall record and the program's first appearance at the Mid-American Conference Tournament since 2010. She briefly served as the program's interim head coach when Sunahara accepted the head coaching position at West Virginia University in the spring of 2015.

Albano entered the coaching field as an assistant coach at Canisius College, working for former Golden Griffins' coach Cathy Hummel from 2009-10, and later was the associate head coach at Medaille College from 2012-14. While at Medaille, Albano helped the Mavericks to the program's first-ever Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship and a corresponding NCAA Division III Tournament appearance.

A Lancaster, N.Y. native, Albano helped the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to two Atlantic Coast Conference championships during her collegiate career there from 2005-09. The former Stephanie Jansma is a big name in local volleyball circles, and has been since her scholastic days which saw her lead Lancaster High School to the 2004 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA championship while earning Gatorade New York State Player of the Year honors that season.

In addition to her volleyball coaching duties, Albano sits on the administrative leadership team for Daemen Athletics as the assistant athletics director for administration. She is responsible for a variety of administrative duties within the division of athletics, including oversight of the DC Will Lead Academy, a comprehensive leadership development program for student-athletes.

Albano resides in Lancaster with her husband, Ricky, and their children, Mackenzie and Hudson.

What People Are Saying About Stephanie Albano...

“I am delighted to see Stephanie Albano as the next head coach at Daemen College. It is a great opportunity for both Daemen and Steph. It is a great fit. She brings a lot of volleyball knowledge to the position as a high-level player along with her varied coaching experiences at the collegiate and junior levels. These experiences will continue to advance the volleyball program, and she will be a great leader and role model for the Wildcat women. Her eye for the game, work ethic and competitiveness will continue moving the Daemen program to new heights of success in the future."
Joe Sagula
Head Women's Volleyball Coach - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Steph has been around a gym and the game of volleyball for a long time and her passion for our sport is contagious. She has an immense amount of knowledge and insight into balancing the demands of being a high-achieving player and student as well as the leadership it takes to represent any program she is involved with. The young women of Daemen College are fortunate to have such a tremendous role model at the helm of their program."
Lizzy Stemke
Head Women's Volleyball Coach - University of Georgia

“Stephanie Albano was one of the most driven, hard-working and competitive student-athletes I have ever coached at the Division I level in my 15 years in the profession, and she has taken that mentality into her career as a college coach, which I know will serve her incredibly well as she begins to lead the Daemen volleyball program. She will never get outworked whether it be in the gym, office, in preparation, or on the recruiting trail, and her competitive spirit will be infectious to her student-athletes. Her team will take on that same mindset, and it is because of that fact, and Stephanie's focus on the improvement of her student-athletes in the gym, but mostly in life, that her team will commit right away and compete extremely hard for her. Finally, the growth I have seen in Stephanie in her transition from student-athlete to wife, mother and coach will provide an amazing example to her student-athletes, one that they can learn so much from, and prepare them for all that life brings their way after graduation."
Travis Flair
Head Women's Volleyball Coach - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

"Steph is a great hire. She has played at a high level and also understands the game from being a collegiate setter and a college coach. She relates well with the players and I expect her to do great things at Daemen."
Reed Sunahara
Head Women's Volleyball Coach - West Virginia University

Career Timeline

Year	Position	School	Location	Level	Team Record	Accolades
2009	Assistant Coach	Canisius College	Buffalo, N.Y.	NCAA Div. I	11-18, 8-10 MAAC
2010	Assistant Coach	Canisius College	Buffalo, N.Y.	NCAA Div. I	16-17, 11-7 MAAC
2012	Associate Head Coach	Medaille College	Buffalo, N.Y.	NCAA Div. III	16-13, 8-1 AMCC
2013	Associate Head Coach	Medaille College	Buffalo, N.Y.	NCAA Div. III	13-18, 6-3 AMCC
2014	Assistant Coach	University at Buffalo	Buffalo, N.Y.	NCAA Div. I	17-15, 6-10 MAC
2015	Associate Head Coach	Daemen College	Amherst, N.Y.	NCAA Div. II	12-17, 7-9 ECC
2016	Head Coach	Daemen College	Amherst, N.Y.	NCAA Div. II	25-8, 13-1 ECC	ECC Coach of the Year NCAA DII East Region Coach of the Year
2017	Head Coach	Daemen College	Amherst, N.Y.	NCAA Div. II	11-16, 7-7 ECC
2018	Head Coach	Daemen College	Amherst, N.Y,	NCAA Div. II	21-11, 13-1 ECC	ECC Coach of the Year
2019	Head Coach	Daemen College	Amherst, N.Y.	NCAA Div. II	16-12, 5-5 ECC
2020	Head Coach	Daemen College	Amherst, N.Y.	NCAA Div. II	3-3, 0-0 ECC

Career Head Coaching Record

School	Years	Overall Record	Win Pct.	Conference Record	Win Pct.
Daemen	2016-Present	76-50	.603	38-14	.731
TOTALS	5 SEASONS	76-50	.603	38-14	.731

Albano vs. Opponents

Opponent	Conference	Region	Record	Pct.	Streak
Adelphi	NE-10	East	1-1	.500	L-1
American International	NE-10	East	0-3	.000	L-3
Assumption	NE-10	East	1-0	1.000	W-1
Bentley	NE-10	East	1-0	1.000	W-1
Bridgeport	ECC	East	6-4	.600	L-3
Caldwell	CACC	East	1-0	1.000	W-1
California	PSAC	Atlantic	1-2	.333	L-2
Clarion	PSAC	Atlantic	0-1	.000	L-1
Davis & Elkins	GMAC	Midwest	1-1	.500	W-1
D'Youville	ECC	East	1-0	1.000	W-1
Fairmont State	MEC	Atlantic	0-1	.000	L-1
Franklin Pierce	NE-10	East	2-0	1.000	W-2
Gannon	PSAC	Atlantic	0-6	.000	L-6
Glenville State	MEC	Atlantic	1-0	1.000	W-1
Indiana	PSAC	Atlantic	1-1	.500	W-1
Jefferson	CACC	East	1-0	1.000	W-1
Lake Erie	GMAC	Midwest	0-3	.000	L-3
Le Moyne	NE-10	East	1-4	.200	W-1
LIU Post	ECC	East	5-2	.714	W-2
Lock Haven	PSAC	Atlantic	1-0	1.000	W-1
Malone	GMAC	Midwest	0-1	.000	L-1
Mercy	ECC	East	7-1	.875	L-1
Mercyhurst	PSAC	Atlantic	0-2	.000	L-2
Millersville	PSAC	Atlantic	1-0	1.000	W-1
Molloy	ECC	East	6-3	.667	L-2
New Haven	NE-10	East	1-1	.500	L-1
Notre Dame	MEC	Atlantic	1-0	1.000	W-1
NYIT	ECC	East	2-5	.286	L-1
Pace	NE-10	East	2-0	1.000	W-2
Post	CACC	East	2-0	1.000	W-2
Queens	ECC	East	7-1	.875	W-4
Roberts Wesleyan	ECC	East	10-0	1.000	W-10
Saint Anselm	NE-10	East	1-1	.500	L-1
Saint Rose	NE-10	East	3-0	1.000	W-3
Salem	Independent	Atlantic	1-0	1.000	W-1
Seton Hill	PSAC	Atlantic	0-1	.000	L-1
Shaw	CIAA	Atlantic	1-0	1.000	W-1
Slippery Rock	PSAC	Atlantic	0-1	.000	L-1
Southern Connecticut State	NE-10	East	2-0	1.000	W-2
Southern Indiana	GLVC	Midwest	0-1	.000	L-1
Urbana	MEC	Atlantic	1-1	.500	W-1
Ursuline	GMAC	Midwest	2-0	1.000	W-2
West Chester	PSAC	Atlantic	0-1	.000	L-1
West Liberty	MEC	Atlantic	0-1	.000	L-1
Wilmington	CACC	East	1-0	1.000	W-1

Albano vs. Conferences

Conference	Record	Pct.
East Coast Conference *	44-16	.733
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	5-0	1.000
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	1-0	1.000
Great Lakes Valley Conference	0-1	.000
Great Midwest Athletic Conference	3-5	.375
Mountain East Conference	3-3	.500
NCAA Division II Independent	1-0	1.000
Northeast 10 Conference	15-10	.600
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	4-15	.211
* includes conference tournament matches

Albano vs. NCAA Division II Regions

Region	Record	Pct.
Atlantic	9-15	.375
East	63-26	.708
Midwest	3-6	.333