HEAD COACH: Suzanne Kilian

In each of Kilian’s first three seasons, the Tigers have shown steady improvement. In her first season, she led the Tigers to a then-program-best 12 victories.  Her sophomore campaign saw a huge jump in the program, with the team finishing 18-21 on the year, and 14-4 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). They fell just short of a NCAA berth, losing in the league championship game. Kilian was tabbed as the CACC Co-Coach of the Year.

This past season, Holy Family recorded its best record with a 23-14 overall mark. The team qualified for its second consecutive CACC Championship Tournament with another 14-4 record.

Kilian has also produced Holy Family’s first two members of the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-East Region team (Maria Scherrer - 2007 and Katie Hornback - 2008).

Prior to Holy Family, Kilian served as head coach for the both the boy’s and girl’s volleyball teams at Council Rock South High School for two years. She led the girls team to the Continental Conference title two straight years, and earned a eighth place finish in the PIAA Class AAA state playoffs in 2005.

Prior to her stop in Newtown, she was the head girls volleyball coach at North Penn High School from 1998 to 2002. During her tenure, her teams made three trips to the PIAA District I championships, and won the Suburban One tournament in 2001. Kilian also had a stop as the head coach of Mount Saint Joseph Academy from 1990 to 1995.

She also has prior collegiate coaching experience, as Kilian was the head women’s volleyball coach at then Philadelphia Textile and Science (now Philadelphia University) from 1996 to 1998, where she established the program.

A 1992 graduate of then Allentown College (now DeSales University), she previously helped run the BuxMont Volleyball club for over a decade.  She brings to the program over 20 years of coaching at the club, high school and collegiate level.

In the off-season, Sue runs volleyball clinics across the country as part of the Gold Medal Squared program.  She is also a certified PIAA Volleyball Official, and holds a Level 2 CAP certification from USA Volleyball.

She resides in Warminster with her husband, daughter Mhairi, and two dogs.

ASSISTANT COACH: Tim Kilian

Tim Kilian is entering his fourth year as assistant coach at Holy Family. His duties include responsibility for all recruiting as well as directing the offense.

Kilian came to Holy Family from Archbishop Wood, where he served as head girls volleyball coach from 2002 to 2005. During his four-year tenure as head coach, Kilian led Archbishop Wood to the Philadelphia Catholic League North Division Title in 2003, 2004 and 2005. He has 15 years of coaching experience at the club and high school levels.

A 1993 graduate of La Salle University with a degree in Business Administration, Kilian received his CAP Level 2 accreditation from USA Volleyball (USAV) in 1998. In the off-season, Tim runs volleyball clinics across the country as part of the Gold Medal Squared program.  Additionally he coaches with the USAV High Performance program during the summer.


ASSISTANT COACH: Seely Leyenberger

Seely Leyenberger is beginning her second year as assistant coach of the Holy Family University women’s volleyball team.

At Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills, Pa., she was a four-time letter winner and a team captain during her senior year. She was a member of the Suburban One League district championship teams in 2000 and 2001. The Falcons qualified for the PIAA District One Class AAA State playoffs during all four seasons.

Shortly after entering Penn State University, Leyenberger was selected as a member of the women’s volleyball club. She was a four-year player, a two-year captain and club president for the Nittany Lions. The team earned two Northeast Women’s Volleyball Club League Championships in addition to securing top finishes at the National Campus Championship Series Volleyball Championships. As the head of the program, she conducted all club management for the women’s and also advised the men’s team.

Leyenberger earned her bachelor’s degree at Penn State in 2006. She is currently working on a master’s degree in education at Holy Family.