Joe Kosciw is entering his ninth season as the head coach of the Lindenwood men’s volleyball team in 2026 and his 13th season overall at Lindenwood.
Under Kosciw in 2025, the Lions finished with a record of 10-15, including a 7-9 mark against conference foes. Lindenwood played well at home, posting an 8-4 mark inside Hyland Arena. During the season, three Lions earned MIVA weekly honors, while Zach Solomon garnered All-MIVA second team recognition
In 2024, Kosciw led the Lions to one of the best seasons in Lindenwood history, which featured many firsts for the program. Lindenwood earned a ranking in the AVCA Poll for the first time in program history, finishing the year as high as 16th nationally. The Lions had one of the most potent offenses in the country, which featured four all-conference performers and three AVCA honorable mention All-Americans: Connor Sheehan, Ian Schuller, and AJ Lewis. Sheehan led the entire country in assists per set at 11.14
Lindenwood finished the year with 16 wins, the most since 2014. Of those 16 wins, seven came against ranked opponents, including two victories in the MIVA Tournament. As a result, Lindenwood advanced to the championship game for the first time in program history.
Under the guidance of Kosciw, Lindenwood finished the 2023 campaign with a 10-13 record, including a 7-7 mark inside MIVA play. Those seven wins against conference foes were the most in Kosciw's tenure, leading to the six seed in the conference tournament. Lindenwood earned key wins over NJIT and No. 11 Ohio State during the year. A.J.Lewis, Kyle Deutschmann, RaShawn Bonner and Ian Schuller all went on to be All-MIVA selections.
During the 2022 season, Kosciw led the Lions to an 8-14 record (4-10 in the MIVA) and another trip to the MIVA tournament before falling to Loyola Chicago in mid-April. Lindenwood earned huge wins over Lewis and Ohio State this past season, the former of which was nationally ranked No. 9 at the time. Kosciw coached the Lions to a pair of thrilling victories at their own invitational, knocking off both Limestone and Lincoln Memorial in five sets in early March. Under Kosciw's direction,
A.J. Lewis and
Diego Negron each earned All-MIVA honors after the season, with the latter claiming his third conference award.
The team compiled a 5-13 record in 2021, including a 2-12 mark within the MIVA, after beginning the season 3-0. Kosciw coached second-team All-MIVA selections A.J. Lewis and Diego Negron, as well as 16 Academic All-MIVA honorees. The Lions were one of the best blocking teams in the MIVA during the season, finishing third with 2.37 per set. Alex Pappas (1.00) and Cal Werths (0.93) finished seventh and ninth, respectively, in blocks per set in the conference. In the classroom, 16 student-athletes compiled Academic All-MIVA honors.
In 2020, the Lions got off to an impressive 11-8 start, including a 4-2 mark in the MIVA. The season was shortened, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two players received All-MIVA honors under the guidance of Kosciw , as Diego Negron and Sam Schindler both were named first-team All-MIVA honorees.
In 2019, the team finished 9-9, with a 5-9 record within the MIVA. The Lions ultimately fell to No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne in the MIVA Tournament. Under Kosciw, four different Lindenwood student-athletes earned All-MIVA honors for the season, including seniors Adam Brewster and Connor Hipelius being named to the second team.
Named the head coach entering 2018, Kosciw oversaw a four-match improvement from the previous season. The 2018 squad posted 9.24 digs per set, second for a single-season in the NCAA-era of Lindenwood volleyball. Kosciw coached the team to a four-set win over No. 8 Loyola-Chicago on April 5. Individually, libero Ryan Vorderer collected 242 digs, a Lindenwood NCAA record.
In his first year on the Lindenwood coaching staff in 2014, he helped the Lions go 19-12 overall. Lindenwood had a 15-1 regular season non-conference mark, and won four matches Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. In 2015, he was part of a program that won its first MIVA Tournament match in program history, and also set a program record with seven regular season MIVA victories. In the last two seasons as the primary recruiting coordinator, Kosciw helped a young Lions squad improve throughout each season and build a competitive culture.
Prior to joining the Lindenwood staff, Kosciw played collegiate volleyball at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa. He played setter for the Crusaders and played in 73 matches for his career. Kosciw served as team captain of the Crusaders for his last two seasons and helped them climb as high as No. 2 in the NAIA national polls in the 2013 season. Kosciw was named 2013 MAMVIC East Setter of the Year. For his career at Clarke he totaled 1,845 assists, which placed him fourth all-time on career assist totals.
A native of Roselle, Ill., Kosciw played club volleyball for three years and attended Lake Park High School, where he helped lead the Lancers to three consecutive regional titles. In his senior season he was named honorable mention All-Conference.
COACHING RECORD
|
|
Overall Record |
Conference Record |
Home Record |
Road Record |
Neutral Record |
| 2025 |
Lindenwood |
10-15 (.400) |
7-9 (.438) |
8-4 (.667) |
2-10 (.167) |
0-1 (.000_ |
| 2024 |
Lindenwood |
16-12 (.571) |
9-7 (.562) |
8-3 (.727) |
7-8 (.467) |
1-1 (.500) |
| 2023 |
Lindenwood |
10-13 (.435) |
7-7 (.500) |
7-4 (.636) |
3-8 (.272) |
0-1 (.000) |
| 2022 |
Lindenwood |
8-14 (.364) |
4-10 (.286) |
7-4 (.636) |
1-8 (.111) |
0-2 (.000) |
| 2021 |
Lindenwood |
5-13 (.278) |
2-13 (.143) |
3-5 (.375) |
2-8 (.200) |
|
| 2020 |
Lindenwood |
11-8 (.579) |
4-2 (.667) |
11-4 (.733) |
0-4 (.000) |
|
| 2019 |
Lindenwood |
9-19 (.321) |
5-9 (.357) |
5-7 (.417) |
3-10 (.231) |
1-2 (.333) |
| 2018 |
Lindenwood |
9-16 (.360) |
3-11 (.214) |
4-8 (.333) |
2-8 (.200) |
3-0 (1.000) |
| CAREER |
|
74-106 (.411) |
41-68 (.376) |
53-39 (.576) |
20-64 (.238) |
5-7 (.417) |
