Now in her 41st season on the William Paterson sideline in 2019, head coach
Sandy Ferrarella’s name is synonymous with Pioneer volleyball.
Ferrarella’s ability to achieve success year after year has put her ninth among active Division III coaches in victories (697-430) entering the 2019 season. She earned her 500th career victory when the Pioneers defeated St. Joseph's-Long Island by a 3-2 score at the Rec Center (9/6/08), and her 600th win during a 3-0 triumph against Old Westbury (9/21/13).
Ferrarella’s impact on past players is remarkable. At each home match, former Pioneers and even their parents come to support the current team. A number of past student-athletes have ventured into coaching and return each fall to play in the Mary Ann Collura High School Tournament that Ferrarella organizes. Many of them kid that their coaching styles and mannerisms mirror Ferrarella’s, and they share that they are better coaches for learning from one of the best to ever teach the game on the Division III level.
Ferrarella has guided the Pioneers to three New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championships (1982, 1983, 1991), and after the Pioneers won the 1991 NJAC crown, she was named the league’s Coach of the Year. In addition, Ferrarella has led the Pioneers to at least 18 wins on 20 different occasions.
Ferrarella played for the Pioneers from 1971-74, then served as an assistant the next four seasons before becoming the head coach in 1979. She completed a bachelor’s degree in physical education at William Paterson in 1975, and also serves as an assistant director of admissions at the University.