Eastern Connecticut State University

One of the volleyball program’s dominant offensive players, Linda Gottlieb teamed with classmates Pat Brett, Michelle Griffo and Debbie Sheiner to form the nucleus of a growing program which dominated New England collegiate opponents. The powerful left-side hitter helped the Warriors win 154 of 212 matches (72.6 percent) and qualify for the first five post-season tournaments in program history. In 1980, the sixth-year program recorded its first 30-win season and earned an invitation to its first post-season tournament. Described as “one of the team’s consistent hitters” and having “outstanding knowledge of the game” as a freshman, the 5-foot-9 inch Gottlieb helped raise the bar another notch. That year, the Warriors netted the first of three straight 40-win seasons and a second straight EAIAW post-season tournament berth. Gottlieb was named the team’s Best Offensive Player as a sophomore that year, and as a junior, received Most Valuable Player honors. In Gottlieb’s final two years, the Warriors won 80 of 104 matches (76.9 percent) and qualified for the program’s first two NCAA Division III tournaments. As a junior in 1982, the Floral Park, N.Y. native was named to all-tournament teams at both the Eastern Invitational and at the EAIAW tournament. The Warriors posted the first of what is currently 28 in-season invitational championships that year and also earned their first national ranking (11^th). “Linda was instrumental in bringing Eastern volleyball to another level,” noted her coach, Hall of Famer Floretta Crabtree.