Chestnut Hill College Athletics

Kim Kolesnik took the reins of the Chestnut Hill College women's volleyball program in 2008. In 2011, Kolesnik joined the Chestnut Hill College undergraduate faculty as an adjunct communications professor and since then she has further expanded her role, assuming duties as the Assistant to the Director of Athletics in 2014.
 
Under her direction, the Griffins have continued to improve as members of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), recently making their second CACC Championship Tournament in 2016. Chestnut Hill College made their first CACC Championship Tournament appearance in 2011 as the #4 seed in the South Division. Alex DePalma ’14 earned an All-CACC Second Team selection after placing second in the league for kills (383) and third in points (437), while setter Sidney Chukuntarod was named the CACC Rookie of the Year as an All-CACC Honorable Mention.
 
Kolesnik led the Griffins to a school-record nine CACC victories during the 2014 campaign, which culminated in a 14-16 overall mark (9-10 CACC) and included the program's first-ever defeat of Philadelphia University and a record-setting five-game winning streak. Chestnut Hill College also established new program marks in kills per set (11.01), attack percentage (.160), digs per set (19.26), block assists (234), and points per set (13.88).
 
Chestnut Hill College placed three Griffins on the All-CACC roster in 2015 with a CACC Defensive Player of the Year selection for Regina Trabosh ’16 headlining all-league recognition that also included Rachel Biro ’15 (Second Team) and Emily Koehler ‘17 (Third Team).
 
Chestnut Hill College's 2016 season proved to be a smashing success as the Griffins clinched their first CACC Championship Tournament appearance since 2011 with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-16, 30-28) victory over Wilmington University on November 2 and established new program bests in both overall (13-16) and league standings (11-8). The Scarlet and Gold saw three student-athletes garner All-CACC honors: Trabosh and Koehler earned All-CACC Second Team recognition while setter Kennedy Sutton (Chesapeake, Va.) earning All-CACC Third Team laurels.
 
Kolesnik has developed the first three members of the Chestnut Hill College 100-kill club (Alex DePalma ’14: 1,001, Rachel Biro ’16: 1,194, and Madison McBride ’17: 1,208) and 10 All-CACC performers, including Trabosh who was a four-time All-CACC selection, a two-time Daktronics/CCA NCAA DII All-East Region Second Team selection, the 2015 CACC Defensive Player of the Year, and the 2017 Chestnut Hill College Athletic Director’s Award (female) award.
 
Kolesnik is a 2007 graduate of Cabrini College (currently of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC)), where she helped advance the Cavaliers to one of the top programs in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC). As a student-athlete at Cabrini College, Kolesnik served as the Cavaliers defensive specialist and libero while collecting several academic accolades including the Cabrini College Female Scholar Athlete of the Year (2006-2007), the Philadelphia Inquirer Women's Volleyball Academic All-Area Team (2005 & 2006), and the PAC All-Academic Team (2003-2006). On the floor, Kolesnik led the PAC in digs in 2005 and assisted in the rise of the Cavaliers from a non-contender to a semifinal participant in each of her final three seasons. She graduated magna cum laude with bachelor degrees in both psychology and English/communication before earning a master's in communications from Villanova University in 2009.
 
Kolesnik graduated from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Coaches Academy (WC, 2011). She currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.