By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
On Sept. 7, the Springfield College women’s volleyball team prevailed 3-1 in a clash against Rochester Institute of Technology at the RIT invitational in Rochester, N.Y.. At first glance, the win blends in with any other. However, it was anything but routine.
The victory over RIT was a milestone for Springfield head coach Moira Long as she achieved her 600th career victory in her 28th season as a collegiate volleyball coach. Six hundred wins is an impressive milestone, as there are only 18 other active Division III women’s volleyball head coaches – out of hundreds of programs – who have accomplished the feat.
Long started coaching women’s volleyball in 1997 at Dickinson College, where she went 5-19. She became Plymouth State’s head coach the following year and found instant success, winning over 20 games in each of her first three seasons. During her 13-year tenure at Plymouth State, Long led the Panthers to nine postseason appearances and a trip to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in 2004. She compiled an overall record of 301-156 with Plymouth State.
In 2011, Long was named the head coach at her alma mater, Springfield College. In her inaugural season with the Pride, the program had one of its best seasons in history. Springfield blazed to a 34-3 record, while making a deep run – all the way to the Elite Eight – of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Long has taken the Pride to the NCAA tournament eight times since, and has won 296 games with the Pride.
Long recognized the accomplishment of 600 wins as important, but has her focus set on the upcoming season.
“I’m of the mentality that I really want 601 and then 602,” Long said. “When I look back at my career I think it’s really great to have 600 wins but I’m super fortunate to have amazing and talented women to be able to coach. It’s a nice milestone and certainly one that I’ll look back on and be proud of but I really just want 601.”
Six hundred wins aren’t just earned overnight. There are the highest of mountains and the lowest of valleys for coaches. From win number one to 600, Long learned many valuable lessons along the way.
“One: win or lose there’s always the opportunity to improve. You could win a match and ask how we can get better,” Long said. “Two: never be satisfied. We could dominate a team and I could look back and say we can get better here. Three: winning is really hard. There’s so many factors that go into it. It’s hard work, talent, the emotional, physical and mental. From one to six hundred I learned that winning is very hard on a regular basis.”
Long’s impressive career goes further than her own individual achievements. In Long’s 13 years as head coach of the Pride, 30 of her players have been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American team, 26 earned NEWMAC All-Conference honors and five that became the NEWMAC Women’s Volleyball athlete of the year.
Having coached for 27 seasons, Long has guided many players through their collegiate careers. Throughout it all, player-relationships have remained a key part in coaching.
“I think everything in coaching is about relationships,” Long said. “I take very seriously the fact that I want to help my players grow as students, athletes, leaders and women. It’s great to have achieved this milestone and have so many of my former players reach out to me because they’re part of that. They’re part of why Springfield College is so special and I couldn’t ask for anything more because of the relationships that I have with them.”
Additional reporting by Emma Bynes.
Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics