Heather Longley became the 8th head coach to lead the Wildcats volleyball program in the fall of 2021. In her first season, she guided the team to the USCAA Division I Championships, where several players earned year-end USCAA honors. Since taking over, Coach Longley has led the program to break nine school records and continues to elevate the team’s competitive level.

In recognition of her leadership and success, Coach Longley was named the USCAA Division I Coach of the Year in 2023.

Heather holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy. In addition to coaching, she serves as an adjunct professor at Bay Path University, teaching Introduction to Criminal Justice.

Before joining Bay Path, Coach Longley had a successful four-year tenure as a JV coach for the state champion winning Granby Memorial High School girls program. She also coached the Southwick High School JV Boys team for 5 years and was the varsity coach for one year where she led the boys to a Western Ma Championship . She was the head coach for the Pioneer Valley Volleyball Club’s 18U Girls Hybrid team for 5 years and now assists different teams as a fill in coach when needed. She also used to run lessons, summer camps, and clinics through the New England Private Volleyball Coaches Association. She also coached for the Beantown Volleyball Club from 2012 to 2016 while she was attending Lasell College. 

During her time at Lasell she was a 4 year starter as a Middle Blocker and broke the school blocking record, was GNAC defensive player of the week multiple times, was chosen for multiple all tournament teams, made the GNAC All Senior team and the GNAC All Conference team in 2016. She was the Student Athlete of the Year in 2016 by maintaining the highest GPA of any graduating student athlete. She also threw for the Lasell Track and Field Team and still holds the school discus record.