Lessinger's Year-by-Year Record  Year Overall Record Conference Conference Record 2004 9-20  C-USA 5-8 2005 4-22  BIG EAST 1-13 2006 12-17 BIG EAST 7-7 2007 19-10  BIG EAST 8-6 2008 17-14  BIG EAST 7-7 2009 18-10 BIG EAST 9-5 2010 10-18 BIG EAST 6-8 2011 12-16 BIG EAST 7-7 TOTAL 101-127 (.443) 50-61 (.450)

Claire Lessinger enters her eighth season at the helm of the USF volleyball program, a program she has helped transform into a BIG EAST Championship contender, since taking over the head job in 2004.

Lessinger, who was named head coach of the Bulls in 2004, spent five years as a collegiate volleyball player before serving as an assistant coach for six seasons.

Since becoming head coach of USF, Lessinger has helped turn the Bulls into one of the forces in the BIG EAST Conference, earning appearances in the conference tournament in each of the past four seasons, including a third place finish in 2007 and 2009.

"It has taken time, energy, patience, and the right personnel to get this program back on track," said Lessinger.  "I am fortunate to have one of the best staffs in the country and a team filled with committed student-athletes.  We realize that expectations follow success and that the targets on our back continue to grow.  We have players and coaches that are constantly motivated to exceed expectations.  The 2011 squad is talented, experienced, and focused, and we will rely heavily on team chemistry to reach our goals for the season."

Lessinger is also well-known throughout the volleyball community as she serves as the Vice President of the BIG EAST Coaches Association and Chair of the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association (AVCA) All-Region Committee. Lessinger is entering her first year of a three-year term with the AVCA All American Committee. She also will remain on the Top 25 Coaches Poll and continue to serve on the AVCA Coaches 4 Coaches Committee.

One of the most important coaching traits Lessinger prides herself in is developing players.

In her first season alone, Lessinger guided rookie Kristina Fabris to become one of the most dynamic players on the court for the Bulls.

Kristina Fabris:

• 2007 All BIG-EAST Second Team honors

Under Lessinger's tutelage, sophomore Alli Arbogast, who didn't play her freshman year, proved to be a force on the defensive side.

Alli Arbogast:

• Led USF in blocks per set as a sophomore
• Finished second in the BIG EAST (10th nationally) in blocks per game
• Broke the single season record for total block assists.

In 2006, Lessinger helped transform Marcela Gurgel into one of the top offensive players in the BIG EAST.

Marcela Gurgel:

• First-Team All-BIG EAST honors (2006-09)
• Northeast All-Region Team
• AVCA Honorable Mention All-American (2007)
• First USF player to earn First-Team All-BIG EAST all four years of collegiate campaign

By the end of her collegiate career, Allie Boaz garnered a plethora of accolades after leading the team in kills and hitting percentage during her senior season.

Allie Boaz:

• First-Team All-Conference Honors
• Honorable Mention All-American
• NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee
• BIG EAST All-Academic Team

"Individual success comes from team success.  We have some spotlight talent on our team and I credit their accomplishments to drive and confidence.  As coaches we can only help players get better if they want to be better.  I am very fortunate to coach players that have the right approach and mentality to their personal and team development," said Lessinger.

After taking over a USF squad that went 12-20 in 2003, Lessinger has slowly brought in talented young players to compliment her system, including international players with tremendous experience who have competed around the world and have diverse skills.  

It was 2007 when the Bulls grabbed the attention of the BIG EAST Conference and the rest of the country. USF finished 19-10, their highest win total of the Lessinger era and went 7-7 in the BIG EAST to advance to the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time under Lessinger. Once in the tournament Lessinger and the Bulls made a run and ended up finishing third, the team’s best finish in their BIG EAST history.

2008 was also a successful season for Lessinger and the Bulls who won 17 matches and finished 7-7 in conference play enough to get the Bulls back to the postseason. In ’09, the Bulls finished 18-10 overall, and 9-5 in league play, the Bulls’ best conference finish under Lessinger’s tutelage.

In 2010, Lessinger led her team to their fourth consecutive BIG EAST Tournament appearance on the heels of one of her most successful seasons in 2009. 

An attitude of hard work and determination is something that Lessinger promotes among her players as they strive to compete at the highest level in the BIG EAST. Her system and her way of doing things has helped breed competitors that are successful on and off the court.

She stresses to her players the importance of fulfilling the term "student" first and foremost and motivated her team to excel in the classroom. In July 2007, her team was rewarded for its efforts off the court and earned The GamePlan/AVCA Team Academic Award for maintaining a GPA of 3.30 for the entire academic year. They were also recognized as the USF team with the highest GPA for 2006-2007.

Lessinger was no stranger to USF when she took over the head coaching role. She was an assistant under former head coach Nancy Mueller and helped lead USF volleyball to two Conference USA regular-season championships (2000 and 2002), a C-USA tournament title (2002) and two trips to the NCAA tournament (2000 and 2002). In her five years as an assistant with the program, the Bulls amassed a record of 106-60 (.639), including a 48-18 (.727) mark at home.

Originally a middle blocker who was forced to play defensive specialist after several knee surgeries, Lessinger worked with USF's middle blockers beginning in 1999, and most of her athletes received individual recognition for their accomplishments. Rachelle Paul and Shameka Mitchell were first-team selections in 2000 and 2003, respectively, Kristina Fabris earned second-team accolades in 2007, and Bonnye Glover was named third team in 2002. Rachel Jobes and Mitchell were on the all-freshman team in 2001 while Fabris earned the accolade in 2004 as well. Alli Arbogast, in 2007, was ranked nationally in blocks per set and broke the record at USF for block assists in a season. She earned All-Region and Honorable Mention All-American honors in recognition for her stellar defensive play.

In the summer of 2007, Lessinger added to her coaching repertoire and took the Bulls on their first ever foreign tour to Brazil. In only a month after USF's Brazilian tour, she took on coaching responsibilities for a U-20 USA Select Team as it competed in Italy.

"I have had the opportunity to play and now coach internationally.  I see tremendous benefits to the players and the team from this type of unique experience," said Lessinger. "I look forward to experiencing another foreign tour with USF Volleyball in 2011."

A native of the Tampa Bay area, Lessinger played volleyball at the University of Florida from 1993-97 and helped lead the Gators to five consecutive SEC titles and three trips to the Final Four.  She was also with the team when the program received its first-ever recognition as the nation's No. 1 team.

Hampered by knee injuries much of her career, Lessinger worked herself into one of the best defensive specialists in the country.  In honor of her hard work and dedication as a player, the UF volleyball program established the "Claire Roach Defensive Award," which is presented annually to the best defensive player.  In 1996, she was named the "Best Defensive Specialist in the Country" by Collegiate Volleyball Updates.

"I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to play at the University of Florida under Mary Wise, who is the most highly-respected female coach in the country," Lessinger said.  "She is the ultimate motivator and makes you thrive on success. Playing for the Gators allowed me to know what it takes to be a champion, and I try to instill those values in our USF players daily.

Lessinger's athletic career began well before even attending college. A three-sport standout at Clearwater Central Catholic High School in volleyball, basketball and softball, she was inducted into her high school Hall of Fame - the inaugural class - on May 5, 2001.  She was named the Tampa Tribune's 1992 High School Athlete of the Year and the 1993 High School Female Athlete of the Year.

Lessinger graduated from Florida in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sports science with a concentration in sports management.

Before coming to USF, Lessinger was an assistant volleyball coach at Boston College for the 1998 season.

Lessinger and her husband Mike, who were married in January 2004 and reside in Tampa with their two sons Tyler and Tanner, who was born Dec. 30, 2010.