GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Former local sports standout and Gettysburg College assistant volleyball coach Leah Bernier has been elevated to interim head coach according to a recent announcement by the Bullets athletics department.

Bernier will be the 10th head coach in the 34-year history of the program. She takes over for Alexa Keckler who left Gettysburg to assume the same position at Muhlenberg College.

“Leah brings strong volleyball experience to her new position and I am confident she will be very successful,” noted Director of Athletics David Wright. “Her first-hand knowledge of our program and players will bode well, and her experience recruiting a large first-year contingent of players will help in this transition for the program.”

Bernier was an easy pick to fill in on an interim basis following a successful two-year stint as an assistant under Keckler. She helped Gettysburg post a 37-20 record and make back-to-back appearances in the finals of the Centennial Conference Tournament. Bernier also served as co-head coach alongside current assistant Sam Abrams during the first weeks of the 2009 season following the birth of Keckler's second child.

“I'm very excited to take over the head coaching position for Gettysburg this year,” said Bernier. “My goals this season are to really focus on skill development as well as continuing to enhance our offensive and defensive strategies in order to advance to and win the conference championship.”

Bernier inherits a team consisting of six returning letterwinners and nine incoming freshmen. She will make her head coaching debut at Gettysburg's own Battlefield Classic on Sept. 3-4.

“We have a great group of upperclassmen coming back and a large, talented freshmen class coming in. In making my decision to step up from an assistant to interim head coach, I felt it was the right thing to do for the program at this late date. I want the student-athletes to have the best experience and smoothest transition that they can this year.”

While this will be Bernier's first collegiate head coaching job, she has a wealth of experience coaching volleyball over the last 13 years. She has guided multiple club teams ranging from ages 12-18 and she served four years as a graduate assistant at both The Community College of Baltimore County Catonsville and the University of Maine.

She also brings an impressive resume as a former student-athlete at CCBC Catonsville and Maine. She was a two-time all-conference pick at BCCC and closed her collegiate career at Maine where she was a two-time first-team all-conference selection and the 2001 America East Conference Player of the Year.

Prior to making a name in the collegiate ranks, the former Leah Voss was an outstanding volleyball and soccer player at nearby Gettysburg High School. She was first-team all-conference in both sports and she was the Gettysburg Times Player of the Year on the volleyball court. Bernier currently resides in Gettysburg with husband Mark and sons Max (4) and Jake (2) and she is the daughter of Stephani Maitland and Timothy Voss.