Bio

BJ Bertges is entering her eighth season as the Head Women’s Volleyball Coach at Penn State Beaver. In the 2018 season, Bertges led her team into the conference championship with an overall record of 17-12, going just 5-5 in the PSUAC during the regular season.  Despite peaking at the perfect time, her young squad that battled their way into the title match, fell in five sets to eleven-time champions, Penn State Fayette.  This marks the sixth consecutive season that she has led her team into the post-season and is the farthest they have ever advanced since 2015 when they reached the final four. 

Bertges holds a career record of 102-98 and a conference record of 69-37.  For the 2019 season, the program is bringing in 8 new players and is returning most of their freshman class from last season in addition to two seniors.  With the returning group having a post-season championship run under their belts, Bertges and her team look to make a strong run into the post season for the seventh consecutive season.  

In addition to success on the court, the team celebreated several individual accolades as well in 2018.  Two different players were named USCAA Players of the week mutlitple times (Keener, Tomasko), and one player was named PSUAC All-Conference (Tomasko).  More impressively, off the court 8 players were named to the PSUAC All-Academic Team.  In her career, Bertges has coached 1 Penn State Beaver Student-Athlete of the Year, 2 USCAA All-Americans, 20 PSUAC All-Conference players, 38 PSUAC Academic All-Conference players, 6 USCAA Players of the Week and 10 PSUAC Players of the Week.

Bertges was a dual sport athlete at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg for four years serving as a captain in both volleyball and softball.  As a volleyball player she earned All-Conference honors her senior season, and was the only player in the program’s history in the top five of the four major statistical categories (kills, blocks, aces and assists). She was an integral part of the program’s foundation and was called “the most prolific all-around player in the program's 10 years” by Coach Simms who previously headed the program. 

After completing her undergraduate degree she went on to play for the Pittsburgh Passion, a professional women’s full contact football team.  As a special team’s player and defensive end, she was part of the 2007 National Championship team who also went undefeated that year in the NWFL.

BJ holds her Master of Science in Sports Management from California University of Pennsylvania and is also the Assistant Athletic Director on campus where she manages the Wellness Center, runs the Intramural program, oversees the athletics website and social media and is the advisor of the Varsity Club on campus.

updated 7/17/2019