Kaleigh Zoucha begins her eighth season as the head coach of Valdosta State volleyball team in 2025.
In 2024, Zoucha led the Blazers to a 19-12 record and their sixth Gulf South Conference tournament appearance under her leadership and the best winning percentage for her career. VSU finished 13-7 in GSC play, with seniors Kaia Baker and Christina Pettigrew earning All-GSC First Team nods. Baker also brought home the 2024 Gulf South Conference Libero of the Year award, marking the first in Blazer history. Â It marked Pettigrew's second-straight first team all-league honor. Â Â
2023 and 2024 marked the first time multiple Blazers were named to All-GSC teams in back-to-back seasons. The 2023 season saw Zoucha and the Blazers improve to 19-14 overall with a 10-6 mark in GSC play. The Blazers went 1-1 in Coach Zoucha’s fifth GSC tournament appearance. Pettigrew (First Team) and Audrey Bennett (Second Team) earned All-GSC honors.  In 2022, Zoucha led the Blazers to an 8-8 record in GSC play and a 7-3 record at The Complex. Smith was named to the All-GSC Second Team and the Blazers earned their fourth GSC tournament appearance in Coach Zoucha’s five years as Head Coach.
The 2020 schedule was abbreviated to ten games due to COVID restrictions. The 2021 campaign saw a return to a normal full slate, during which Blazer freshman Jojo Smith earned GSC Freshman of the Year and All-GSC First Team honors.
During Zoucha’s second season in 2019 the Blazers were led by Kayla Widera, who finished second in the GSC in blocks per set (1.11), ranking 52nd nationally. Zoucha saw seven players earn GSC academic honor roll accolades.Â
Coach Zoucha’s first season at the helm of VSU Volleyball saw the Blazers finish 10-6 in GSC play and 15-18 overall. Zoucha brought the Blazers back to the GSC tournament for the first time since 2016 and earned their highest win total in GSC play (10) since 2015. Kayla Widera earned All-GSC Second Team honors, and six Blazers were named to the GSC Academic Honor Roll.
Zoucha is 52-53 in Gulf South Conference play and 94-111 overall during her seven seasons as Head Coach of the Blazers.
Kaleigh Zoucha (pronounced ZOO-ha) was hired at VSU during the Spring of 2018. She is a former player and coach at volleyball powerhouse Nebraska Kearney. She competed in four NCAA tournaments as a player before transitioning seamlessly to the coaching staff, helping the Lopers to a 152-24 record during her five year tenure as Assistant Coach. During that same stretch, the Lopers finished eighth, fifth, 15th, fifth, and ninth in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll.
A native of Lincoln, Neb., Zoucha comes from a coaching family. Her father, Mike, previously served as head baseball coach at Nebraska-Lincoln and most recently as an assistant at Oklahoma. Her younger brother, Taylor, served as an assistant baseball coach at Nebraska Kearney. While playing as a defensive specialist at UNK, she became one of just 29 players in school history to record 1,000 career digs. In addition, her team posted a record of 131-13 during her four seasons as a student-athlete and finished 12th, fifth, ninth, and third in the final AVCA rankings.
Zoucha married former Nebraska-Kearney football player Kalvin Zoucha. They have three children, Annie, Rae Lenna, and Noa.
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