Athletics > Volleyball > Coach
Meet the Coach
Ben Read
Head Coach
Ben Read begins his fourth season as head women's volleyball coach, an appointment that started in August 2006. Read, who came to Wheaton following a successful stint at the University of Connecticut, helped the Lyons reverse their fortunes in 2007 by posting their highest win total since 1997 at 22-13, an 18-win improvement from 2006.
In addition to being a graduate assistant coach for two seasons at UConn, Read also led the Seacoast Junior Olympic squad to an 18-and-under New England title in 2004. Read was an assistant coach with the University of New Hampshire as the Wildcats won the 2002 and 2003 America East Conference Tournaments and advanced to the NCAA Tournaments. He also served as a volunteer assistant with UNH's men's club team during that time.
While on UConn's staff, Read handled tasks ranging from player training to video breakdown to scheduling team travel. The Huskies went 32-24 during his tenure, and he assisted the Wildcats to a 46-23 record in two years at UNH, including a 23-3 America East mark.
A two-year club volleyball player at UNH, Read saw action as an outside hitter and setter during his career and captained the squad as a senior. The 2002 cum laude graduate majored in kinesiology and exercise science. Read is currently working toward his master's degree in sport management and sociology at UConn.
The Read File
| Year | Overall | League | Highlight(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 4-28 | 2-7 | -- |
| 2007 | 22-13 | 4-5 | NEWMAC Tournament |
| 2008 | 13-20 | 3-6 | NEWMAC Tournament |
| Totals | 39-61 | 9-18 | 3 Seasons |
Doree Blanco
Assistant Coach
Doree Blanco, a former standout volleyball player at nearby Stonehill College, returns to Wheaton for her second season as an assistant coach.
Blanco was a volunteer coach for the Lyons during the 2008 spring campaign and gained prior experience coaching her alma mater's men's club team in 2006 following graduation.
A three-year captain for the Skyhawks, Blanco led the team in kills all four seasons and digs three times and was among the top three in blocks every year. She finished her career with 1,136 kills, 1,062 digs and 246 blocks.
Blanco was also a member of Stonehill's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and qualified for the Northeast-10 All-Academic first team her senior year. She graduated cum laude in 2006 with a degree in communications.
Dave Ludwig
Assistant Coach
Dave Ludwig, a former club coach at nearby Stonehill College and a veteran player, joins Wheaton as an assistant this fall.
Ludwig previously served as the head coach of the Stonehill men's club team from 2001-03, helping the squad qualify for two New England Collegiate Volleyball League (NECVL) Championships.
A competitor at five USA Adult Open Volleyball Championships, Ludwig has played in leagues and tournaments around New England and the Northeast for nearly 20 years. Ludwig served from 1993-2001 in the U.S. Marine Corps reserves, playing for a base team while training in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Ludwig, a native of Foxboro, pursued architectural technology at Massasoit Community College and is working toward a degree in technical communications at Northeastern University.
Kristen Romanko
Assistant Coach
Kristen Romanko, a three-time all-conference volleyball player at Colby-Sawyer College before graduating in May, enters her first season as an assistant coach with Wheaton this fall.
Romanko, who served as a captain each of her final two years, was named to The Commonwealth Coast Conference's (TCCC) all-league second team as a sophomore and a junior before earning honorable-mention laurels following her final season. During her career, Romanko pushed the Chargers to a 103-44 overall record, including 32-6 in league play. Colby-Sawyer won the conference title in 2005 before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Romanko helped her team make an appearance in each of the past three Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament championship matches while advancing to TCCC Tournament finals in 2007 and 2008.
Romanko graduated second in Colby-Sawyer history in career blocks (353), fourth in hitting percentage (.240) and fifth in kills (831), recording 806 kills and 347 blocks during her final three seasons alone. She set the school mark with 155 blocks as a junior, led the squad in blocks three times, finished among the top three in kills on a trio of occasions, and paced the Chargers in service aces her senior year.
Also a four-year member of the Colby-Sawyer women's basketball team, Romanko's squads went 81-29 overall and 52-8 in TCCC play, winning league tournament titles and advancing to the NCAA Tournament during each her freshman and junior seasons.
A native of neighboring Mansfield, Romanko has been the head coach of Mansfield High School's junior varsity girls' basketball summer league team since 2005 while also working a trio of local basketball camps between 2003 and 2007.
Romanko was on Colby-Sawyer's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for four years, serving as the vice president her senior year. The 2009 graduate earned a degree in child development with early childhood education certification.
This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 11/10/09.
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