Honors/Accomplishments
· Career Record (351-260; .574)
· All-Time leader in wins at DeSales (351)
· MAC Freedom Coach of the Year five times (2007, 2011, 2017, 2018, and 2021)
· Qualified for MAC Freedom Postseason 17-of-19 years
· MAC Freedom Championship (2007)
· NCAA Tournament Appearance (2007)
· 27 wins in 2007 (second most in program history)
· Nine 20+ win seasons
· Named to AVCA Thirty Under 30 (2011)
Coaching Experience
· Head Coach, DeSales University (2005-Present)
· Assistant Coach, Slippery Rock University (2003)
· Assistant Boys Coach, Oley Valley HS (2004)
Education
· B.S., Exercise Science and Health/Physical Education, Slippery Rock University (2004)
· M. Ed., Technology in Education, DeSales University (2017)
Coaching at DeSales
Coach Zabinski has guided the Bulldogs to the MAC Freedom postseason in 17 of her 19 seasons in the sidelines. DSU has advanced as far as the MAC Freedom championship match 12 times, winning the MAC Freedom title in 2007 and to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in team history.
In 2011, Zabinski guided DeSales to the second most wins (27) in team history falling to Eastern University, who eventually advanced to the NCAA Final Four, in the MAC Freedom championship match.
The Bulldogs have won 20+ matches nine times under Zabinski’s tutelage, have seen 69 student-athletes earn All-MAC Freedom honors, nine players earn MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year honors, five players earn MAC Freedom Player of the Year honors, 20 players named AVCA All-Region, and 12 players named AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American.
Prominent DeSales Graduates
· Samantha Worontzoff ’25 – All-MAC Freedom First; All-MAC Freedom Second-Team; MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year once; Finished career with 368 kills and 226 blocks.
· Grace Grandinetti ’23 – 3x All-MAC Freedom. Finished career with 1,819 career assists and 100 service aces.
· McKenzie Brady ’22 – 2x All-MAC Freedom Second-Team, AVCA Honorable-Mention All-Region, Academic All-MAC. Finished career with 1,284 digs and 156 service aces.
· Caroline Garretson ’21 – MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Year, All-MAC Freedom First-Team, AVCA All-Region, AVCA HM All-American, Academic All-MAC, MAC Fall Academic Honor Roll 2x.
· Morghan Shoemaker ’20 – 2x All-MAC Freedom First-Team, 2x All-MAC Freedom Second-Team, MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year, All-ECAC Metro Region once, ECAC Metro Region Freshman of the Year, 2x AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region, 3x MAC Fall Academic Honor Roll, finished career with 1,232 kills, a .294 hitting percentage, and 359 total blocks including a school-record 317 block assists upon graduation.
· Gabby Savite ’19 – Four-time All-MAC Freedom First-Team, MAC Freedom Player of the Year as a junior, Google Cloud Academic All-District First-Team as a senior, MAC Volleyball Senior Scholar-Athlete, Four-time Academic All-MAC Team, MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year, AVCA Mid-Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year, Three-time AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American, Three-time AVCA All-Region First-Team, LVAIAW Volleyball Player of the Year twice, finished career with 1,680 kills, 1,838 digs, 148 total blocks, and 120 service aces.
· Natalie Gray ’19 – Four-time All-MAC Freedom Team (1st-team twice, 2nd-team twice), AVCA All-Region First-Team once and Honorable-Mention once, AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American as a sophomore, finished career with 2,374 digs and 205 service aces.
· Lisa Wallitsch ’16 – Four-time All-MAC Freedom Team (1st-team three times, 2nd-team once), Three-time AVCA All-Region First-Team, ECAC All-Region twice, Honorable-Mention All-American three times, LVAIAW Vollleyball Athlete of the Year (2016), finished career with 4,281 career assists, 1,449 career digs, and 218 service aces.
· Julie Blessing ’14 – Two-Time All-MAC Freedom Team (once 1st-Team, once 2nd-Team), Academic All-MAC (2014), AVCA All-Region First-Team once, Honorable-Mention All-American once, finished career with 792 career kills and 174 total blocks.
· Amanda Wallitsch ’14 – Three-time All-MAC Freedom Second-Team, AVCA All-Region Second-Team once, finished career with 2,155 career digs and 131 service aces.
· Justine McNulty ’13 – Three-time All-MAC Freedom (twice 1st-Team, once 2nd-Team), MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year (2009), finished career with 3,600 career assists, 1,385 career digs, and 144 service aces.
· Paige Horrigan ’12 – All-MAC Freedom First-Team twice, HM All-Region (2011), CoSida Academic All-District First-Team, MAC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete, finished career with 927 kills and 387 total blocks.
· Eden Reichard ’12 – All-MAC Freedom First-Team once, finished career with 1,924 career digs and 103 service aces.
· Kylie Fehnel ’10 – Four-time All-MAC Freedom (twice 1st-team, twice 2nd-team), LVAIAW Volleyball Athlete of the Year (2009 and 2010), finished career with 1,191 career kills, 1,295 career digs, 292 total blocks, and 103 service aces.
· Kerri Andrews ’09 – Two-time All-MAC Freedom Second-Team, finished career with 2,098 career digs and 152 service aces.
· Sharon Uliana ’08 – First-Team All-MAC Freedom once, finished career with 4,096 career assists, 1,130 career digs, and 144 service aces.
· Jen Mellon ’09 – Three-Time All-MAC Freedom First-Team, MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year (2006), finished career with 1,254 career kills and 115 total blocks.
· Joann Rivera ’09 – Three-time All-MAC Freedom (twice 1st-team, once 2nd-team), MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year (2005), finished career with 1,180 kills and 112 service aces.
Playing Career
Zabinski earned four varsity letters at Slippery Rock University. She was named team captain twice (junior and senior year), earned All-PSAC Second-Team honors twice and was named First-Team All-Region three times.
She finished her career ranked among the top 10 all-time in several different statistical categories including fourth in kills (1,596), sixth in hitting percentage (.172), seventh in total blocks (194), third in service aces (143) and ninth in digs (1,389). In addition to her All-Conference and All-Region honors, Zabinski was named to the United States International University (NCAA Division II players only) Volleyball Team in the summer of 2002.
Committees
· Also serves as the Intramural Director at DeSales University.
· Chair of MAC Volleyball Committee (two years)
· AVCA Division III Head Coaches Committee (2012-present)
· NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Committee (2005-07, 2011-13, 2017-present)
· Voter AVCA National Top 25 Poll (2015-present)
Personal
Zabinski, a native of Leesport, PA, resides in Coopersburg, PA with her husband Brian and two sons Alex and Austin.
