Joseph Czopek begins his 14th season as the head coach of the Wilkes women's volleyball program in 2025, and will also be in his 10th year coaching the men's team at Wilkes in 2026 after opening the program's inaugural season in 2017, leading the team into their first season as a part of the CVC last season.
The Colonels finished the 2024 season 5-21 overall, with one victory in Landmark Conference play.
The Colonels finished their first season of Landmark Conference play with a 10-20 overall record in 2023, ending the season with one victory in conference play.
Czopek coached Nicole Fitzpatrick who earned Second Team All-MAC Freedom honors during her junior season in 2022.
In 2021 Czopek coached the Colonels women's team to its 400th program victory on October 18th. Kelsey Carroll was named Honorable Mention All-MAC Freedom following the season.
During the 2019 season Czopek reached 100 career coaching victories at Wilkes for the women's team. Czopek mentored Jamey Mikovich to her fourth All-MAC Freedom selection and to the program record for career kills.
Czopek's 2018 women's team tied the school record set back in 2013 for single season wins with 18. The Colonels also qualified for the ECAC tournament for the first time since 2013 and finished with a 18-13 record.
In 2012, Wilkes captured the No. 3 seed in the Freedom Conference Tournament. It marked the first time since 2009 that Wilkes earned a postseason berth. In 2013, Wilkes went 6-1 in conference play earning the No. 2 seed and a home match in the semifinals. Wilkes also made an appearance in the ECAC Southeast Tournament finishing fourth at the postseason event. In 2014, Wilkes finished 3-4 in conference play collecting the No. 4 seed in the Freedom Tournament.
He has coached 13 all-conference selections over his 10 seasons behind the bench for the women's side and was named the conference Coach of the Year in 2013.
The Men's Volleyball team finished their first year of play in the CVC 8-21 overall, with an 0-7 record in conference play.
2024 saw the Czopek-led Colonels improve yet again, setting a new program record with 20 wins to only nine losses on the year as an independent.
In 2023 Czopek coached the men's team to a then-program best record of 18-10 and junior Jackson Shafer earned Honorable Mention All-MAC honors.
Czopek's 2019 men's team was the first to reach double-digit victories as the Colonels finished with a 10-16 overall record. His 2020 team sat with a 10-9 record with 12 matches remaining before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daniel Sales was named Second Team All-MAC following the 2018 season as Czopek's first all-conference men's player.
Czopek came to Wilkes after a 17-year stint at Wyoming Valley West High School coaching both the boys and girls volleyball squads.
While at Wyoming Valley West, Czopek led the Spartan's boys team to three (2007, 2008, and 2009) PIAA District II AAA Championships as well as qualifying for the Regional Finals in 2008 and 2009. In 2011, his girl's squad earned a district berth.
Prior to his time at WVW, Czopek spent 12 years as the head swimming and boy's volleyball coach at Nanticoke High School where he implemented and managed all aspects of both programs from regular season to state level competition. He has also coached at the club level serving as the head coach of the Northeast Alliance AAU club team.
Czopek served a the Women's Volleyball Sports Chair from 2016-2018 and the Men's Volleyball Sports Committee from 2021-2023.
A 1988 graduate of King's College with a degree in Business Administration, Czopek has strong ties to the area which aids in his mentoring of the Wilkes women's volleyball program. He also is a member of the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association.
