Joining the athletic department coaching staff at the University of the Sciences this season as their Head Women’s Volleyball Coach is Somers (Sandy) Butcher.  Butcher comes to the Devils after a highly successful club and high school coaching career.   Sandy becomes the 17th coach in the 36 year history of the program, which began back in 1974.  

Butcher is certified as a CAP Level III coach by USA Volleyball’s coaching accreditation program and most recently prior to taking his coaching skills to the college level was director and head coach of the National Select Volleyball Club.  His high school coaching credentials include a ten-year stint as the head coach of Mount Saint Joseph’s Academy where he produced a 120-35 record and led the Mount to two Bicentennial League Championships in 1997 and again in 1998 and two co-championship titles in 2004 and 2005.  Since 1997 his squad was never seeded lower than 12th in the PIAA District Tournament. 

Coach Butcher has been able to develop elite teams over the years because of his success of recruiting players and then coaching and training to play highest Levels of Jr. USA Volleyball. He has helped many players through his network of college coaches all over country to be recruited and receive offers for scholarships at the collegiate level. 

His coaching career began with CYO grade school teams in 1985. In 1996, he began coaching high school volleyball at Mount Saint Josephs Academy and coached with various AAU and USA volleyball clubs. He has continued his service with club volleyball at the elite level after leaving Mount St. Joseph’s and was one of the first in the Keystone Region Volleyball Association (KRVA) region to start taking teams out of the local area and enabling the players more opportunities to get to the next level. This also enabled the players to receive a more challenging level of play and made many of them better players. He has had the honor over the past 11 years of developing and coaching many elite players in the Philadelphia area as well as the teams receiving a bid for USA Volleyball National tournament by being the best in the Keystone Region (Pennsylvania) in the following age groups 14,15,16,17 and 18 in USVA Juniors. 

Butcher maintains a simple coaching philosophy.  “I am very loyal person to the players I coach. I can be tough when needed but in general a pretty easy going person.  I love to win, but I know you have to teach and train your player how to win first. It takes a lot of hard work.  I feel that coaching and sports are short stories of life and helpful to the athlete in dealing with life in general.”