WILKES-BARRE – King’s College director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation Cheryl Ish has announced the hiring of Alicia Orlowski as the new head women’s volleyball coach at the college. Orlowski replaces long-time coach Bernie Kachinko who retired in November after 21 years at King’s where he concluded his career with a program record 403 victories.
Orlowski, who is the wife of King’s College men’s lacrosse coach Andy Orlowski, had previously served as head women’s volleyball coach at Wilkes University for three years from 2006 to 2008 and stepped down in May 2009 prior to giving birth to the couple’s first child Wyatt in July, 2009. She returns to college coaching after a one-year sabbatical.
Orlowski is a 1996 graduate of Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Ill. She was a standout member of the volleyball team and was also played on the Sports Performance Volleyball Club. She was a member of the 1996 club that went 99-4 and placed fifth in the Junior Olympic National Tournament.
She continued her education at Coastal Carolina University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor of science degree in Biology with a minor in Sports Medicine. As a member of the Coastal Carolina Volleyball team, she played as a defensive specialist and helped the program to Big South Conference championships and NCAA Division I national tournament berths in 1996 and 1998. She graduated from Coastal Carolina ranked second in school history in career aces and sixth in total career games played. She also served as a team captain during her senior year. Orlowski would then further her education at Duke University where she earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.
At Wilkes, Orlowski set the foundation for an improving Lady Colonel program which had struggled for a number of years prior to her arrival. In her third year in 2008, she led Wilkes to the semi-finals of the Freedom Conference Tournament for the first time in school history. She also guided Wilkes to two wins over King’s that season, snapping a eight-match losing streak to the Lady Monarchs. Additionally, Wilkes ousted King’s in the Freedom Conference Tournament quarterfinals with a 3-1 victory, marking the Lady Colonels first-ever Freedom Conference Tournament victory. Her efforts in player development and recruiting were also felt a season after her departure as Wilkes finished the 2009 campaign with a second straight trip to the Freedom Conference semi-finals while going 2-0 against King’s during the year.
“We are very excited to have Alicia come on board as our new head women’s volleyball coach and feel she is the absolute perfect fit for King’s,” Ish stated. “She brings a great deal of successful experience as both a player, where she competed at the Division I level, as well as a coach where she turned Wilkes’ program around in just a few short years. She already has a connection to King’s being married to Andy and she is familiar with our program having coached against us, as well as having a great deal of familiarity with the other teams in our conference. It was tough to lose a coach as successful as Bernie but we do not think we could have found a better coach to come in and move our program forward.”
At King’s, Orlowski takes over a Lady Monarch program with a rich volleyball tradition that includes 42 all-conference player selections, three Freedom Conference championships, and numerous post-season tournament berths. King’s, which finished the 2009 season with a 19-12 mark.
“ I am very excited to continue the tradition of King's Volleyball,” Orlowski stated. “Although we will be losing four key seniors to graduation there is a strong group of returning players that along with incoming freshmen and newcomers are ready to make the transition and take the next step towards becoming a top team in the Freedom Conference. I look forward to implementing my system and building upon the previous successes Coach Kachinko enjoyed by utilizing my knowledge of the game and my previous experiences as a player and coach to continue the winning tradition of King's Volleyball.
“I want my players to look forward to practice as a competitive learning environment used to prepare for game play,” she continued “I also look to implement new serve receive, defensive and offensive systems as well as an off-season conditioning program that will allow us to compete at the highest level possible. My long terms goals are to win Freedom Conference championship and receive berths into the NCAA Division III National Tournament. I am also looking to recruit young women who are dedicated to both academics and athletics and who are willing to put in the hard work that it requires to excel in the classroom and on the volleyball court. I am very excited about this opportunity and happy to be at King’s.”