HIGHLANDS COACHING STAFF
With over 65 years of combined coaching experience, these Highlands coaches are here to help develop the athletes that enter their gym to be the best volleyball players they can be.
Corey Will
Corey is a founding member of Highlands Volleyball Club and has served as both a director and coach in the program. He is the head coach at Berlin Brothersvalley High School. In his 29 years as a head coach, his teams have won over 400 matches. His teams advanced to the PIAA single A state semi-finals in 2016, 2018, and 2019 and were the state runner-up in 2018. He has coached 7 All-State players. In college, he spent a year as a volunteer assistant at Altoona High School and played on the club team at Penn State - Fayette. Outside of volleyball Corey is a math teacher at Berlin Brothersvalley High School.
Laura Mortimore
Laura has been with Highlands VBC since 2006 in which she has contributed as an assistant coach, head coach and a director. Outside of Highlands, Laura’s coaching career began in 2000 as an assistant coach at her home school of Claysburg Kimmel High School. She then took a varsity head coach position at Bishop Carroll High School followed by assiting the varsity coach at Somerset High School. After taking a break from high school sports to have children, Laura is back in action at her home school of Claysburg Kimmel running the elementary program and volunteering her serviced for the Junior High program. Lastly, she played for Highlands before going on to play at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Laura’s career is with Gibson-Thomas Engineering as a Civil Engineer.
Julie Petro
Julie began her coaching career in 2016 as Berlin’s Junior High Coach. She came aboard the Highland staff in 2017 and has been the Head Coach for many talented 14U teams. Before coaching she was an active participant in both Women’s Power and Co-Ed Power Leagues for over 20 years. Julie continues to lead the Mountaineers Jr. High team and volunteers her services with JV/V. Julie is also a certified referee and was an active PIAA referee from 2004 to present. Julie is currently going back to school to become a teacher and will be spending the 2021-2022 school year as a student teacher at Berlin Brothersvalley High School.
Bryan DiFebo
Bryan started with Highlands in the 2018-2019 season. He helped bring back the 12U program after a few years of the club not hosting that age group. Bryan started with Highlands as an assistant coach but has been a head coach for the last two seasons. Before Highlands, Bryan played mens and coed recreational and power volleyball from age 15 to 29. He played in various leagues in Meyersdale, Somerset and Johnstown. He attended the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, completing a BS in Biology in 1999. While at PITT he also helped start a club volleyball team and played for 2-3 seasons against opponents such as Slippery Rock, Geneva, IUP, and Robert Morris. Outside of Highlands, Bryan coaches baseball, softball and is the Vice President for the Somerset Little League. Bryan’s career has culminated 11 years with either Enterprise Ventures Corporation (EVC) or Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) as a chemist.
Jason Atchinson
Jason started coaching in 2015 for the Rockwood Lady Rockets. He has held the positions of junior high assistant, junior varsity head coach and is currently the varsity head coach. This is his third year with Highlands. Last year Jason and his 14U team captured a gold medal in a Highland’s hosted tournament. Outside of volleyball Jason and his wife own Atchison Electric in Rockwood.
Paula Ledney
Paula has been an assistant coach in the Highlands program for the past two years assisting with the 12U and 14U teams. She played volleyball at Forest Hills and has been a great asset to our head coaches as she brings past athletic experience and a personal touch with the athletes on our team. Outside of volleyball, Paula works as a financial analyst with Penn State Extension in Somerset.
Shelbie Coughenour
Shelby is the newest edition to our coaching staff. She is the current assistant volleyball coach at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Shelby was a 2014 graduate of Berlin Brothersvalley where she was a three times all-state selection. She played for Highlands VBC from 2009-2013 and continued her athletic career at the collegiate level playing both volleyball and basketball for Clarion University from 2014-2018. Shelby continues to participate in adult women and co-ed power leagues. Outside of volleyball, Shelby works at BNY Mellon as a depositary settlement senior representative and has recently obtained her MBA from Duquesne University.
Allie Lane
Allie began her coaching career in 2018 as a 14u coach for Highlands, and she also coached a 17u team in 2019. Since then, Allie has joined the Somerset Varsity Volleyball Team as the assistant coach and has hosted elementary clinics for young girls who are interested in the game of volleyball. Allie was a 2018 graduate of Somerset Area School District where she was a two time All-State selection in volleyball. In 2015, Allie and her team made it the final four in the state. In 2016, she led her team to the PIAA State Championship game. In high school, Allie and her team also won three district championships, and she was selected as LHAC All-Conference her senior year while also reaching the milestone of achieving over 2,000 assists. Allie also played for Highlands VBC from 2012-2017. Outside of volleyball, Allie is also an assistant coach for the Somerset Varsity Softball Team. She is currently a senior student teacher at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown earning her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Special Education.