Lower Hudson Volleyball Association

Chris grew up playing soccer, football, and lacrosse in the Philadelphia Catholic League. He began his coaching career in Philadelphia as an assistant high school football coach for 5 years. Chris’s volleyball career began when he started playing rec volleyball in the Philadelphia area. The sport stuck. Ever since, he has ingrained himself in volleyball; always pushing to improve, learn more, and hone his skills. Chris marries his love of volleyball with his passion for teaching and helping others to reach their potential. He has coached club volleyball for 6 years now, and played competitively for over a decade.

Angelique played volleyball through middle school and high school in Irvington graduating in 2020. She is an LHVA alumni. She played multiple positions including outside hitter and setter. In the past, she has assisted with multisport classes at House of Sports, Irvington youth volleyball and i9 sports volleyball clinic/league. She is in her second year as the Assistant Varsity Coach at Briarcliff High School. Angelique is excited to start her second season as a club coach at LHVA! She looks forward to sharing her passion for volleyball and further developing skills for all players she encounters in the program.

I was born in Paraguay, South America.  I played team handball and volleyball for my school until I moved to NY.  I was part of the team-handball national team from 13 to 17 years old traveling throughout South America representing Paraguay. At age of 17, my family and I moved here and I joined the White Plains High School volleyball team and a team in the NY metropolitan women's soccer league. I've been playing indoor and outdoor volleyball for many years now.  I'm a sports lover and I'm excited for this new adventure!  I hope I can help others improve themselves and also keep learning about volleyball by helping coach this beautiful game. 

Jojo's passion for volleyball was ignited over 18 years ago when he joined a company team. Since then, he has been eager to play wherever he can find a game, whether indoor, grass, or beach volleyball.  His love for the game evolved into a coaching. 

His first experience coaching with LHVA was summer of 2022 beach volleyball camp, fall 2024-25 will be his 3rd season. His volleyball coaching experience includes 8 years coaching club volleyball and 2 years as an assistant coach at WCC, a D-III college team in Westchester. 

Jojo delights in seeing his players' progress. He beams with pride when they exclaim, "Hey coach, did you see that?" and loves to see their excitement to show off what they have learned and takes great joy in witnessing the growth and development of each player.

His ideal retirement is playing volleyball and daily walks along the beach. He will coach until he can’t.

Sophia’s passion for volleyball started over 10 years ago. She began playing at Eastchester middle school and continued all through high school. Sophia began playing club for Downstate Juniors VBC before joining LHVA in 2019. After being named Eastchester High School’s Athlete of the Year in 2021, Sophia committed to play Division 1 Volleyball at Manhattan University. She is currently in her senior year at MU studying communications concentrating in sports media. Sophia looks forward to sharing her love and knowledge of the sport with all the athletes she has the privilege of coaching! 

Growing up I played multiple sports and found my passion for volleyball early on. In high school, I played Varsity and Jr. Olympics Club and competitive intramurals in college at USD. My commitment to fostering leadership skills in young people and my love of being in the gym playing volleyball has led me to coaching. This year will be my 3rd year as head coach for the Pelham Recreation program. In the off-season, I run a developmental program in Yonkers. This September, I will be starting at Scarsdale High School as the Varsity B Assistant Coach. I am thrilled to be entering my 2nd year at LHVA and I'm looking forward to a great season! 

Leslie Morales has been playing volleyball for the last 11 years, 4 of those years were at Manhattanville College playing Division 3 volleyball.  She is a Mamaroneck High school alumni where she has come to return as the Varsity Assistant Coach and entering her 3rd year there. Leslie has been coaching different age groups for the last 5 years. She is now entering her third year with LHVA and is super excited and looking forward to coaching this club season by developing athletes passion, love and knowledge for this amazing sport!

Melissa has played many sports at a young age but volleyball has always been her passion. She has played volleyball since she was 11 years old and still continues to play as an adult. She mostly played as a setter but now she plays all around. She is a Pelham Memorial High School alumni and she also played for LHVA for 4 years. After she graduated in 2016, she started coaching younger girls from ages 14 and 15 years old. This is her eighth year coaching with LHVA and is very happy and excited to continue coaching these girls and share the love for volleyball with them.

Anthony Pirrone was an avid competitive swimmer.  He started playing volleyball about 15 years ago and fell in love with the sport.  He recognized the opportunity for adults to come together and play volleyball competitively, so he organized a league to foster great competition, skill building, and camaraderie. Currently, he runs a successful volleyball league (Westchester Volleyball NY) with his wife, Beth Pirrone, and each year, the pair has been able to expand and refine their program to include even more opportunities for adult athletes in the volleyball community. Seven years ago he started coaching the modified volleyball team at Mamaroneck Middle School.  This will be Anthony's 10th year coaching for LHVA, and is excited to bring his love of the game and commitment to excellent play to these young players.

Steven grew up in Cortlandt Manor and graduated from Walter Panas High School in 2020. He currently attends Cuny Hunter College in New York City and has been playing volleyball for about 3 years. Steven entered the volleyball community in late 2021 and has grown to love volleyball ever since. Very soon after, Steven began playing grass volleyball and participated in many AVP tournaments, including major tournaments on AVP’s Grass Tour such as The Pottstown Rumble, The Dig and The Susquehanna Smash. In his first year of playing, Steven and his partners were able to place 3rd at The Pottstown Rumble, as well as 5th out of 125+ teams at The Susquehanna Smash. In his second year, Steven and his partner were able to place 2nd out of 110+ teams and 9th out of 70+ teams at The Dig on separate days. This year, Steven and his partners were able to place 5th and 9th out of 200+ teams on 2 separate days at The Pottstown Rumble. Though Steven has not been playing volleyball for long, his drive and his experience from previous sports fuels him to become a better player and always looks to play at the next level. From being able to watch and gather tips from professional and open-level players, he is able to learn and add new skills and techniques to his own game, further improving his knowledge and passion for volleyball. This is Steven’s first year coaching at LHVA and he looks forward to helping players develop their game, increase their passion and love for the game of volleyball, and help them play at the next level.  

I'm from Alsace, France. I've been living in NY for more than 20 years. Throughout my life I've always enjoyed playing sports like soccer, tennis, and basketball. My first experience playing volleyball was during my college years where I participated in "Intramural volleyball" at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. In 2017, I joined the Westchester Volleyball NY coed indoor league, where I met Beth and Anthony. I've been playing volleyball for about 7 years in different leagues and open gyms.

Besides Westchester Volleyball NY, I'm also active in the group "Dig This Volleyball" in Queens, NY, where I learned to play 5-1 rotation.

I look forward to coaching my first season and sharing my enthusiasm for this wonderful game. 

Nicole began playing volleyball in high school and continued into college, playing for the UConn women’s club team and for Western Connecticut State University as a middle hitter for a short time. Thankful to have been introduced to the Westchester, NY volleyball community, she has continued to play in various leagues over the years, including beach and indoor, building her skills in all positions on the court. Nicole is returning to LHVA as an assistant coach for her second year with previous club experience and sumemr camp. Nicole is excited to be joining the LHVA coaching staff to support the skill development as well as being a positive role-model for the players for another great season!

Alexandra has played volleyball for over 10 years, playing at RHAM High School (CT) and local Connecticut clubs. After being ranked the state's top high school team and top setter both her junior and senior year, Alexandra committed to play Division III volleyball at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. She played four years, where she transitioned to being an opposite attacker, receiving All-New England recognition. Alexandra also represented her collegiate conference as a member of the National Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Post-graduation, Alexandra was a head coach with Surge Volleyball Club in Rhode Island for two years for their 15 Open and 16 Open teams. This is Alexandra's second year coaching with LHVA and she is excited to continue the development and success of the club's players. 

I moved to America from Brazil when he was 10 years old, in Brazil volleyball is just as popular as soccer and everyone starts playing from a very young age and I did both. When I moved to America there was no volleyball in any of the schools in this area, so I pursued my career as a soccer player for mount Vernon high school. After I graduated I was offered a job as a trainer at total form fitness where I still work up till this day doing what I love the most which is helping people stay in shape and be involved in sports at the same time. Thru totalformfitness I was introduced to other coaches and players who play volleyball in adult leagues and was finally able to start playing volleyball again. In 2015 I started coaching for Scarsdale high school as a JV coach, also Scarsdale volleyball club, and became obsessed with helping kids improve, succeed and have fun at the same time. In 2018 I was moved to assistant varsity at Scarsdale high school where i coached for 5 years, and in 2024 i was hired at the new head coach for the Harrison High School girls varsity volleyball team.