Concord University head volleyball coach Kate Dillon will enter her 17th season in charge of the Mountain Lions in 2025.

Dillon continues to reinvigorate the Concord volleyball program as the Mountain Lions are coming off one of their most successful seasons in recent memory. Although going just 17-16, Concord advanced to the Mountain East Conference Tournament Semifinals, a feat the program had not accomplished since 1992. The 2024 success was spearheaded by three All-MEC selections: Meg Williams (first team), Allie Davis (second team) and Chloe Thompson (honorable mention). 

It was the first time that Concord had three all-conference selections since 2001.

After back-to-back single-digit win seasons, Dillon engineered a 16-15 season in 2023 that included a berth in the MEC Tournament for the first time in six years. Perhaps more surprising in the turnaround was a roster compromised of 10 freshmen and a total of 12 newcomers. 

On her watch five players have earned 14 all-conference honors: Sarah Jones (2012, 2013, 2014), Helen Theisen (2010) and Brytni Willis (2013, 2014) and Brooke Heck (2015, 2016, 2017), Erin Shannon (2016), Hannah Steele (2021, 2022), Allie Davis (2024), Chloe Thompson (2024), and Meg Williams (2023, 2024).

Dillon guided Concord to five consecutive postseason appearances after qualifying for the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament from 2010-12. With the creation of the Mountain East Conference prior to the 2013 season, the Mountain Lions made four of the first six MEC Tournaments (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017). 

She has also coached the only two players in program history to record both 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, Willis and Alexi Pranckus (2015-18). Of the six players in program history to have 1,000 career kills, four have been coached by Dillon

Dillon took over the squad in the summer of 2009 and proceeded to win 20 matches over her first two seasons, a feat that had not been accomplished in back-to-back years since 2003-04.

Prior to coming to Concord, Dillon spent eight years as the head coach at Osbourn Park High School (Virginia) concurrent with 14 years as the head coach for the Clash Volleyball Club (Manassas, Va.).

Following Dillon’s blueprint which emphasizes defense and passing, Osbourn Park reached the Virginia AAA final eight four times and won seven Cedar Run District championships. The Yellow Jackets went 65-12 (.844) between 2005 and 2007.

For her success, Dillon was named the Virginia High School Coach of the Year six times in addition to earning Northwest Region Coach of the Year honors in 2004.

Dillon played collegiately for Ithaca College for four seasons. She received her bachelor’s degree from Ithaca in 1990 and her master’s degree from George Mason University in 2000.

Kate has three adult children, Austin, Ian and Hannah and resides in nearby Hinton. In the summer of 2017, Kate married Keith Dillon.