Kylie McSwaney Reflects on Career in Volleyball

The 2017-2018 school year was a special one for Penn State Behrend volleyball. Both the men’s and women’s teams were able to capture the AMCC conference title. Under the leadership of coach Phil Pisano, both of these programs have achieved great success in his tenure at Behrend. One recent Behrend alumni shared her experiences in the sport of volleyball and how coach Pisano had an everlasting impact on her life.

Kylie McSwaney, a reading specialist intern in the Greensburg-Salem School District and a 2018 Behrend alumni was able to enjoy both a terrific personal career while also achieving great team success. Kylie began playing the game of volleyball in middle school and immediately fell in love with the game. After her first year of high school, Kylie was faced with the tough choice on whether or not to continue as a cheerleader and gymnast or focus attention to the sport of volleyball. McSwaney decided playing club volleyball and high school volleyball was the right decision, and this choice has paid off.

Beginning in the summer of 2011, Kylie began her career in travel volleyball as a member of the Westmoreland Elite volleyball club. “It was a great opportunity to play better competition and better develop my skills.” McSwaney said. “I did not know anyone on the team before beginning, but I was able to meet some great friends and work towards becoming a college volleyball player.” Beginning in her sophomore year of high school, McSwaney started for Greensburg-Salem and became one of the teams most consistent players. Playing as a middle hitter, McSwaney was able to help lead the Golden Lions to a WPIAL section championship and was named all section in her junior and senior year. Her play in high school and club volleyball allowed many colleges to take notice of her abilities.

“I was a little undersized to play middle hitter at the next level” McSwaney admitted. “However, there were a lot of coaches who knew my ability and believed in me including IUP, Allegheny, and of course Behrend. In the end, I chose Behrend because they had the exact degree I was seeking and I believed in Phil and the program at large at Behrend. I knew from the start and always will know that I made the right decision.” Choosing to play at Penn State Behrend meant the opportunity to play with fellow WPIAL athletes Jordan Harakal, Rachel Frye, and Hannah Saunders. McSwaney, Saunders, and Frye played club volleyball together in their senior year of high school, and the friendship has only grown since choosing to play together at Behrend.

The first three years of McSwaney’s career were notable as the team made the conference playoffs in two of the three seasons and she had over 100 kills in each of those seasons. However, she knew winning an AMCC championship was one thing she hoped to accomplish in her final collegiate season. “We started my senior year pretty average.” McSwaney said. We were below .500 and just had not fully clicked yet. We had some experience but also some younger girls, and we just needed to find a way to gel together as a team.:

The Behrend women’s volleyball team headed to the Lycoming College tournament in the middle of the season. The last time the Lions won this tournament, they won the AMCC title. After a long weekend of volleyball, the Lions came out on top with a perfect 4-0 record on the weekend. It was beginning to look like the Lions could make a run, and that is exactly what they did. The Lions were able to close the regular season and AMCC playoffs on an 8 match winning streak and also won 15 of their last 16 matches overall which fueled them to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Lions set totals in that winning streak were 24-4 with only dropping four sets to La Roche between a regular season matchup and in the AMCC title game. Though it seemed like little trouble winning an AMCC championship, the Lions were on the road and faced a 2-1 set deficit in the conference finals. “I remember coach Phil looked at us in the huddle after we went down 2-1 and said that he was proud of us for getting to this point. It was at that moment that we buckled down and knew we wanted to win this game in some way.” The Lions managed to overcome the deficit in the pressure packed environment and headed to face Wittenberg who was won of the nations top teams.

Though McSwaney’s career ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, she will never forget going out as a conference champion. “It was such a great feeling to achieve the goal we had set out to accomplish for a few years. It was special to win the AMCC title in my final season.” These days, McSwaney helps the Greensburg-Salem volleyball program in both junior high and varsity as an assistant coach. Being a teacher has allowed her to keep the sport in her life rather easily even if she is no longer playing competitively. Kylie is also enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh to obtain a masters degree in reading education. It is a decision that will pay off in the long run as she continues her career as an educator.

Throughout her life, McSwaney has had the full support of her parents Julie and Mike. They gave her the opportunity to focus on the game of volleyball all year round and traveled a lot to watch their daughter play the game she loves. In addition to her parents, Kylie noted that all of the coaches at Behrend have played a special role in her development as both a player and a person. Her club volleyball coaches were also extremely helpful in her progress as a player as well as helping colleges take notice of her skills in the sport.

Overall, there is nothing McSwaney would change about her academic and athletic career at Penn State Behrend. It has provided her with a solid group of friends both in education and in athletics. She also was able to compete in the NCAA tournament after winning an AMCC conference crown in her senior season. Deciding to focus so much attention on the game of volleyball changed Kylie McSwaney’s life for the better. However, her impact on the game may just be beginning as she continues her career as a coach at her alma mater Greensburg-Salem.