MARK BIRTWISTLE
Head Coach
Mark Birtwistle has been at the helm of Eastern University Volleyball since 1990 and has established EUVB as one of the premier DIII volleyball programs in the country.
Birtwistle has amassed nearly 850 career victories and is currently ranked #2 in career wins among all active NCAA DIII college coaches. In his tenure at Eastern, he has celebrated 24 Conference Championships. Birtwistle led the Eagles to the 2011 NCAA Final Four and three trips to the Elite Eight. His teams have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament 22 times and have advanced to the Sweet 16 10 times.
Coach Birtwistle has been honored by the AVCA six times as the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year (2002, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016), including the 2016 season where he led his team to an Elite Eight appearance in Oshkosh, WI. Birtwistle has also been selected as the Conference “Coach of the Year” 11 times.
Under the direction of Coach Birtwistle, Eastern has produced 45 Division III All-Americans, 58 Mid-Atlantic All-Region selections and over 100 All-Conference players.
KRISTA RODGERS
Assistant Coach
Coach Krista has been with the Eastern University Volleyball program for the past two seasons and has been an integral part of the program's growth and success.
Krista works directly with our middle hitters but has a significant role in the team's overall offense. She also works first hand in the team's recruiting and operations.
Originally from Fairfax, Virginia, Rodgers played volleyball at the University of Mary Washington where she earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-America, 1st Team All-Region, 1st Team All-State and 1st Team All-Conference honors her senior season. Krista was also selected as the Coast-to-Coast Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Coast-to-Coast Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2022-2023.
In 2022, Rodgers guided her team as both their starting middle hitter and team captain, to their first C2C Conference Championship. The team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional Final.
Krista only played three seasons at UMW and finished her career with 684 kills and 284 blocks. She hit a career-best .375 in her senior season and ended her career with a .345 average. She became UMW's fifth volleyball All-American since 2016.
Rodgers also served as the Co-President for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and earned a variety of Academic Honors including Dean's List, Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society and Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honors Society.
She has experience coaching for multiple club teams including 540 Volleyball Club in Virginia, East Coast Power and currently with the 16-1's team at Synergy in King of Prussia.
