COACHING STAFF
Head Coach | David Heller
David Heller enters the 2020 season as the head coach of Georgetown volleyball program after a season as assistant coach with the Hoyas in 2019. He came to the Hilltop with extensive coaching experience on both the men's and women's side of the sport.
Prior to his move to the Nation’s Capital, Heller was the head men's volleyball coach for six seasons at Mount Olive, an NCAA Division II program in North Carolina, while also serving as an assistant coach with the women's team. He finished his time with the Trojans with a program record 98 wins while coaching 26 all-conference honorees including both an offensive and defensive player of the year recipient, three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and one AVCA All-American.
Additionally, Heller had spent three years as an assistant coach for Team USA and the Collegiate Men's National Team, representing the United States at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea in 2015 and in Taipei, Taiwan in 2017.
Heller graduated from Lewis University in 2008 with a degree in human communication and earned his master’s in marketing management in 2013 from Durham University in the United Kingdom.
Assistant Coach | John La Rusch
John La Rusch enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Georgetown volleyball team for the 2021 season. He comes to the Hilltop after a stint as a graduate assistant at the University of Nebraska.
In addition to his time with the ‘Huskers, La Rusch served as a head coach with Nebraska Juniors Volleyball Club and Volleyball Club Nebraska. He previously also served as a volunteer assistant for the men’s team at Golden West Community College, a men’s and women’s assistant coach at Fountain Valley High School and a men’s assistant with Balboa Bay Volleyball Club.
A standout in his own right on the court, La Rusch played collegiately at Long Beach State from 2012-16. La Rusch had a breakout season in 2015 as a redshirt junior, averaging 3.09 kills per set and earning AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors. In 2016, he helped LBSU to a semifinal appearance in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championships behind a 26-7 overall record for the 49ers.
A Long Beach, California native, La Rusch earned a Bachelor of Arts in American studies at Long Beach State in 2016 and a Master’s of Arts in education administration from Nebraska in 2020.
Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator | Susan Kim
Susan Kim enters her first season as an assistant coach with the Georgetown volleyball team for the 2021 season. She comes to the Hilltop with over 16 years of coaching experience, including the past nine at the collegiate level.
Prior to her time on the Hilltop, Kim was the Associate Head Coach at Rider University, helping guide the Broncs to a 2020 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. At Rider, she was instrumental in the development of the 2020 MAAC Player and Setter of the Year and the 2019 MAAC Rookie of the Year as five players earned all-conference honors in her two seasons in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
Kim previously coached in Philadelphia as an assistant at Holy Family and La Salle from 2012-19, including a stint as interim head coach with the Explorers during the 2013 spring non-championship season. Under her tutelage with the Tigers, Holy Family earned a 2018 NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen appearance and produced an AVCA All-American, AVCA East Region Player of the Year, CCA East Region Player of the Year, conference player of the year, rookie of the year, setter of the year and four all-conference players in 2018 along with a trio of all-tournament team and three all-region tournament team players.
Beginning her coaching career at the prep and club level, Kim previously coached at Council Rock North High School as the head coach for the boys volleyball team from 2011-12. While at Council Rock North, the team won the SOL National Conference Championship and District 1 AAA Championship and was ranked in the top-10 in the PVCA state poll. The team advanced to the PIAA State Championships in 2011 with an undefeated 12-0 conference record and 16-1 overall record.
Prior to that, she served as the head coach of the Archbishop Wood High School girls team from 2006-11. During her tenure, the team went 79-23 and won the Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) Division Championships (2006, 2007, 2008), two PCL Championships (2008, 2010), and two District 12 Championships (2008, 2010). The team advanced to the PIAA State Championship playoffs in 2008 and 2010. She received Bucks County Courier Times Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
Kim played four years for the Bloomsburg University women’s volleyball club and was the team's co-captain. She earned All-Tournament team honors in the Northeast Women’s Volleyball Club League Championship. A 2004 graduate of Bloomsburg, Kim earned a Bachelor of Science in computer and information systems with a minor in economics.