Mount Saint Mary College Athletics

Head coach Mike Strano begins his 20th season, and 21st year overall, with the Mount Saint Mary College women's volleyball program in 2023.
 
Strano, who holds an impressive 126-52 record against league opponents with the Mount, won his 200th career match in 2015. The winningest coach in program history, Strano has amassed 292 wins while patrolling the sidelines in Newburgh.

Under Strano's watch, Grace Riddle was tabbed the Skyline Conference Player of the Year in 2021 and was named First Team All-League in each of her three sesaons as a Knight. Riddle became the first player in program history to amass 1,000 kills in a career, setting the program record in winners at 1,110. All told, Riddle finished her career with nine school records. 
 
After seeing the 2020 season cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Knights returned to the court in 2021 and produced a 14-15 overall record and a 7-4 mark in league play, earning a berth in the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament for the 14^th straight season. Strano mentored 2021 Skyline Conference Player of the Year Grace Riddle as well as Second Team All-Skyline Conference pick Fran Cammarata in his 18^th season at the helm.
 
Strano led the Mount to 13 victories and a 13^th straight appearance in the Skyline Conference Championship in 2019 and mentored three more All-Skyline Conference selections in freshman Grace Riddle (First Team), senior Morgan Burke (Second Team) and sophomore Alyssa Barbara (Second Team).
 
Starno guided the Mount to an 8-2 league mark and the most overall wins (18) in a season since 2014 during the 2018, earning the third seed in the Skyline Conference Championship. The Mount featured two more All-Skyline Conference selections in Morgan Burke (First Team) and Madelyn Barberan (Second Team), giving Strano 29 All-League selections since the 2004 campaign.

Mount Saint Mary made its 11th straight appearance in the Skyline Conference Championship in 2017 and boasted a pair of All-Skyline Conference selections in First Team pick Julimar Figueroa and Second Team selection Kim Gries. 

The Knights advanced to their fifth Skyline Conference Championship match in the last six seasons in 2015 after topping Maritime (3-0) and second seeded Sage (3-1) in the first two rounds of the championship tournament. Strano added two more All-Skyline Conference selections to his resume in 2015, with Jen Gries landing on the First Team and Kayla Kurka earing Second Team recognition. 

The Knights made a thrilling run to the Skyline Conference Championship finals in 2014, but was eventually defeated by top-seeded Sage Colleges. The Knights, entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed, fell behind, 2-0, in the semifinal matchup with St. Joseph's College (L.I.), before stunning the Golden Eagles with three straight set wins to advance to the championship match. The Knights went 20-17 overall on the season, and 7-2 against conference opponents. Three Knights were named to the 2014 Skyline Women's Volleyball All-Conference teams under Strano's tutelage.

The Knights finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 17-20 snapping their streak of three consecutive 20 win seasons.  The Knights went 6-3 in league play and made the conference semi-finals before bowing out to No. 1 seeded Sage College. Strano coached 3 players onto the All-Skyline Team.

For the third year in a row, the Knights were unbeaten in Skyline Conference play and claimed the regular season title with a mark of 8-0.  The Knights hosted the championship tournament once again, but this time, defeated St. Joseph's College and NYU-Poly on their way to the first Skyline Championship in program history.  The Mount went on to compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time, falling to 14th-ranked Salisbury University in the opening round.

In ten seasons under the direction of Strano, Mount Saint Mary has compiled an overall record of 153-150.  Their mark inside the Skyline Conference remains impressive at 65-21 during the ten years.

Prior to coming to the Mount, Strano spent three years as a coach at Highland High School.  His first year was spent as an assistant coach for the girls' varsity volleyball team, and the next two were as the head coach.  Highland advanced to the sectional playoffs during each of Mike's two seasons as the head coach.  Strano also coached the boys' team for three years.

After leaving Highland, Strano started the girls' volleyball program at Wallkill Senior High School in 1999.  At Wallkill, Strano coached the volleyball program for four years while also serving as an assistant coach for the varsity baseball team for six years.

Further, Strano has spent three years as the coach of the Mid-Hudson Juniors, a local club team.  Coach Strano has also served as a volleyball referee for a number of years.  He continues to play competitive volleyball himself, playing as a member of an USA Volleyball team called Kaboom.  Finally, in 2012, Strano will enter his eighth year as a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Strano holds a pair of degrees from SUNY New Paltz, including a B.A. in English (secondary certification) earned in 1996 and a M.P.S. in humanistic/multicultural education earned in 2002.

A native of Highland, New York, Strano currently resides in Wallkill with his wife, Kimberly, and kids: Michael, Trevor, and Hannah.

Strano At The Mount