Casey Fitzpatrick was named the fourth women’s volleyball head coach and second men’s volleyball head coach in program history on August 12, 2021.
The 2023 season for the men's volleyball program was their most successful yet, collecting the first 20-win season in program history on their way to their first New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) title. The team also picked up their first win over a nationally ranked opponent when they defeated No. 13 Lasell on February 9, and later earned a spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-15 for the first time in program history, slotting in at No. 15 on March 1, while also receiving a top-4 ranking in NCAA Region 1. The historic season for the Bison under Fitzpatrick earned several individual awards, as student-athletes Luis Martinez and Tanner Soracco (First Team All-NECC), and Dylan Knapp, Carlos Mercado, and Dylan Urbanski (Second Team All-NECC) received recognition for their performances. Mercado, Urbanski, and Soracco all took home NECC All-Tournament Team honors, while Mercado was named Tournament MVP. The team also had three AVCA Division III All-Northeast Region Team selections, the most of the 28 teams in the region, as Martinez, Mercado, and Soracco each earned the nod.
The women's volleyball program also had a record-breaking season in 2022, as they set a program record with 15 victories, while also setting the record for most conference wins in a single season in program history with three. With their regular season performance, the Bison qualified for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament for the first time in program history. Fitzpatrick also coached the program's first CCC All-Conference selection, as junior Liz Diorio was named All-CCC Third Team Libero.
Fitzpatrick guided the men’s squad to a 15-12 mark and a berth in the NECC Championship match in his first season back in Dudley. Six student-athletes – Ray Wang, Tanner Soracco, Nicholas Basco, Nick Martin, Sammy Saintilus, and Dylan Knapp – made the NECC All-Conference Team while Knapp took home Rookie of the Year honors. The team also won the AVCA USMC Team Academic Award for the 2022 season. The women, meanwhile, fell one-win shy of advancing to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) playoffs for the first time in program history.
Fitzpatrick returned to Dudley following a two-year stint as the men’s volleyball head coach at Division III Adrian College. While in ‘The Great Lakes State,’ Fitzpatrick was named the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) Coach of the Year in his first season in 2020 after guiding the Bulldogs to a 10-9 mark and a first-place finish. The Bulldogs led the conference in both kills/set and digs/set.
At Adrian, Fitzpatrick coached five MCVL All-Conference student-athletes, including the 2020 Offensive Player of the Year and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week, Noah Marcinkowski. The Bulldogs received the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award in 2021.
In his first stint at NC in 2018-19, Fitzpatrick worked alongside former head coach John Post in leading the Bison to a 17-10 mark (10-4 NECC) and a berth in the conference semifinals. He worked directly with NECC Rookie of the Year Lance Law and recruited reigning NECC Defensive Player of the Year Nick Basco.
A native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Fitzpatrick was a four-year member of The Sage Colleges men’s volleyball team, where he is the program’s all-time leader in matches played (119) and digs (884). After receiving his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2018, he accepted a graduate assistant position with the Western New England University women’s volleyball program.
Fitzpatrick is a member of the AVCA West All-American Committee since 2020. He is also a member of the AVCA Northeast All-American Committee and the AVCA Division III Top 15 Ranking Committee.
Career Record at Nichols
| Women's Volleyball |
|
Men's Volleyball |
|
| Year |
W |
L |
|
Year |
W |
L |
| 2021 |
5 |
12 |
|
2022 |
15 |
12 |
| 2022 |
15 |
11 |
|
2023 |
22 |
8 |
| 2023 |
15 |
11 |
|
2024 |
- |
- |
| Total |
35 |
34 |
|
Total |
37 |
20 |
*(MVB) 2023 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Champions
