Head Coach Aylene Ilkson enters her fifth season leading the George Mason women's volleyball program in fall 2021.
Ilkson became the seventh head women's volleyball coach in the program's history on June 5, 2017.
During the 2020-21 spring season, Mason posted a 5-5 Atlantic 10 record in the East Regional Pod. The Patriots had their best start in the Atlantic 10 in program history, boasting a record of 3-0 to begin conference play. In addition, junior libero Marlanna Bozicevich was named to the A-10 All-Academic Team while juniors Erin Derick and Katie Parmalee earned A-10 weekly awards.
In 2018, Ilkson led the Patriots to the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time in program history. Mason finished fourth in the league with a program-best A-10 record of 8-6, and posted an overall record of 10-15 for its first 10-win season since 2015. She coached three student-athletes to Mason's first-ever A-10 postseason accolades: Bailey Williams (All-Conference), Peyton Ehmke (All-Rookie) and ShaLi Niu (All-Rookie). In addition, the Patriots garnered six A-10 weekly awards to set a new program-best mark for a season.
Off the court, the Patriots have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for five consecutive seasons under the leadership of Ilkson. For the 2020-21 academic year, the program landed 12 student-athletes on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Prior to joining Mason, Ilkson served as the director of volleyball operations for the 2016 ACC Champion North Carolina. The Tarheels finished the season 29-4 and advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinal before bowing out to #10 UCLA.
The former Division III All-America outside hitter spent two seasons (2013, 2014) at the helm for the United States Coast Guard Academy. She led the Bears to a 41-21 record over two seasons with back-to-back appearances in the semifinals of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament.
A 2009 graduate of Springfield College, Ilkson spent three seasons (2010-12) as an assistant at her alma mater and a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College (2015).
Ilkson was the top assistant at Springfield, where she led her alma mater to an 82-12 record, three straight NCAA appearances, including an NCAA Elite Eight appearance, and a NEWMAC title in 2011.
While in New Hampshire, Ilkson led the Big Green to a 9-5 Ivy League record, the most conference wins in Dartmouth history, and a third-place conference finish.
A four-year starter at Springfield College, Ilkson led the Pride to a 108-31 record and the 2008 NEWMAC Conference title. A two-time All-NEWMAC Second Team and AVCA All-New England Team selection, she earned AVCA Division III All-America honors as a senior in 2008. The three-time captain for the Pride is third all-time in digs (1,593), fourth in digs per game (3.54) and in the top 10 in career kills at Springfield.
Ilkson graduated in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in movement and sports studies and earned a master's degree in athletic administration from Springfield in 2012.
