Johan Dulfer is the eighth head coach of the Ithaca College volleyball program, taking the helm of the program in the spring prior to the 2016 season. He recently completed his eighth season as head coach during the 2023-24 academic year.
In his first eight seasons at IC, Dulfer has led the program to a 161-58 (.735) record, while he achieved 400 career head coaching wins in the final match of the 2022 regular season. During his time at Ithaca, he has led the program to the NCAA Tournament all seven seasons (2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19), while that streak is extended to 14 consecutive seasons dating back to his time as head coach at Clarkson University. He has amassed a streak of 13 consecutive seasons leading teams under his direction to 20-plus wins (2007-2019). Since arriving on South Hill, he has guided players to 31 total All-Conference accolades, 19 total AVCA All-Region plaudits, three AVCA All-New York Region Player of the Year awards, and 13 total AVCA All-American recognitions.
Dulfer has elevated the Ithaca program from a consistent regional power into a true player on the national stage in fairly short order. Under his watch, the Bombers have advanced to the NCAA Regional Round Championships in four of the past six seasons, while IC won back-to-back NCAA Regional Championships during the 2017 and 2018 seasons to punch tickets to the NCAA Championships final site. The Bombers made the program's third all-time appearance in the NCAA Final Four during the 2017 season.
The 2022 season saw the Bombers capture the programs first-ever Liberty League Championship. The 2023 season saw the Bombers win 25 or more matches for the second consecutive year as they finished with a 27-5 mark and hosted an NCAA regional for the first time since 2018. They captured their second-straight Liberty League championship and had three student-athletes earn All-American honors with both Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu and Julia Costa earning Honorable Mention honors as well as Jamie Koopman who was named to the Second Team. Koopman earned her second career All-American selection as she was Honorable Mention in 2021 was also this season's Region III Player of the Year and Liberty League Player of the Year registered a team- and Liberty League league-best .391 hitting percentage in 103 sets, which was also ranked 10th within Division III.
After a 2020 season without competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dulfer guided the Bombers to a 16-14 overall record where he picked up his 100th win at Ithaca and the team appeared in the Liberty League Championship along with the NCAA postseason tournament. IC had a trio (Jordyn Lyn Hayashi, Jamie Koopman and Jaelyn Hershberger) garner AVCA All-Region honors as both Jamie Koopman and Jordyn Lyn Hayashi also went on to receive AVCA All-American recognition.
Dulfer guided Clarkson to seven straight NCAA appearances and four consecutive trips to the Elite Eight during his tenure, and his teams compiled a 270-115 record (.701 winning percentage) in his 10 seasons with the program. Under the guidance of Dulfer, the Golden Knights won five Liberty League tournament championships (four straight from 2012-15), and four regular-season league titles during his final years with the program. He was named Liberty League Coach of the Year four times and was named AVCA New York Region Coach of the Year in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Prior to his time at Clarkson, Dulfer was the first assistant coach at Division I James Madison University, helping the program post a 45-36 record (.555 winning percentage) during his three seasons.
Dulfer, a native of the Netherlands, published a book in 2013 on his experiences coaching volleyball, "A Program with Purpose: Thoughts on Building a Successful Volleyball Program." He earned master's degrees from both the University of Minnesota in 2003 and the University of Groningen in 2001.
He and his wife, Avery, live in Ithaca with their nine-year old son, Liam, and six-year old daughter, Logan.
Updated: 1/25/23
