After 23 seasons at the helm of the Central Connecticut State University women’s volleyball team, head coach Linda Sagnelli will coach her final match on Saturday against the Skyhawks of Stonehill College.
In September, Sagnelli announced she would be retiring after the 2023-24 season.
After graduating from C.W. Post, now Long Island University Post, in 1983 with a degree in physical education, Sagnelli started her coaching career at several clinics, coaching young campers.
She got her first break in the coaching industry when one of the coaches she played for on an open-level team encouraged her to apply for two vacant coaching positions in Division I college volleyball.
One was at Iona College, and the other at Manhattan College, both based in New York.
She ultimately chose Iona, mainly due to it being within a closer proximity to where she lived.
Sagnelli spent the first 14 years of her collegiate coaching career at the small New Rochelle-based school, where she also served as the head softball coach.
She also served as an assistant athletic director and the Senior Women’s Administrator for the school.
“I was just barely twenty-four years old and the head coach of a Division I program,” Sagnelli said. “I was very fortunate to have a very supportive staff.”
After 14 seasons at the helm at Iona, Sagnelli eventually found her way to Central in 2000, where she has coached since.
In addition to qualifying for the Northeast Conference Women’s Volleyball Tournament 18 times, Sagnelli is a three-time NEC regular-season champion and a four-time NEC Coach of the Year.
Despite the numerous accolades, there is one accomplishment that Sagnelli holds in a much higher regard.
“The greatest accomplishment to me is watching a person come in as an unsure freshman and then watching her graduate four years later,” Sagnelli said. “Being able to share those four years with her and watch her mature as a person is easily my greatest accomplishment as a coach.”
Senior opposite hitter Isabelle Roufs, who will play in her final match as a Blue Devil on Saturday, shared a similar sentiment.
“She pushes us to be great people that get involved with the community and great teammates to each other on the court,” Roufs said. “She is very knowledgeable about the sport and is always one to put her players first.”
In addition to the on-court success Sagnelli’s teams had during her tenure, she encouraged her players to seek success in the classroom as well.
“With the schedule that we have, it is so easy to slack off or get distracted from what needs to be prioritized, but Coach always made sure we put our academics first and always was there to help when someone needed it,” Roufs said. “Not only did I grow as a player during my time here, but I grew in my academics as well and learned life skills that were taught through being a student-athlete.”
Her players have won 17 consecutive American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Awards. They have also had the highest team GPA of any varsity sport at Central every year since 2017.
Sagnelli said she thinks fondly of all the memories she shared with her players.
“I hold close to the heart all of the memories that involve the team environment and culture because there’s nothing like it,” Sagnelli said. “I think everyone carries them for a lifetime. The friendships that have been made knowing that in recruiting these athletes from all over the world, seeing them become lifelong friends, that will stay with me forever.”
The Blue Devils will look to give their coach one more memory when they take on Stonehill on Senior Night on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 4 p.m. inside Detrick Gymnasium.
