Fall Approaches

Though the temperature doesn’t seem like it, fall approaches, so we are starting to see activity coming from the Volleyball program.

The team has started their fall pre-season camp, with snippets reaching social media and fueling position discussions in various fora.

Two solid pieces of information have been shared about positions, but we’re not talking about player positions here, we’re talking about staff.

First, Sarah Petkovic, who has been the Director of Ops for the team for 14 years, and now stretching through three head coaches tenures, has gotten a promotion. While it’s unclear how her day to day job duties will change, she has a new title, and one presumes a raise. It’s also unclear if her day to day duties will change enough to necessitate bringing in a new Director of Ops. Nothing has been announced along those lines, yet at least.

This is a hugely deserved boost for Petkovic. For anyone fortunate to know her, you know she is one of the most kind, caring, and warm-hearted people around. In her official capacity, Directors of Ops are almost universally underappreciated by fanbases, but perhaps Petkovic most of all. She was the only staff person retained from Anne Kordes’ tenure as head coach into Dani Busboom Kelly’s tenue, and now unsurprisingly continues on staff with Dan Meske.

As Director of Ops, she has almost singlehandedless kept the team functioning from a logistics and planning perspective. She has also been a resource for players to lean on in times of need, having her finger on the pulse of what resources are available in what situations.

Congratulations to Sarah Petkovic.

Also on the staffing front. Tori Dilfer Stringer will be joining the staff in the role of “Offensive Coordinator”. In DBK’s tenure, Dan Meske didn’t do much work with setters, given DBK’s extensive background with the role, so he has reached out to Stringer in the past and worked with her to bolster his own understanding and ability to coach the role. So it comes as no surprise that he decided to just bring the source of that knowledge on staff directly.

Stringer has been playing for the Columbus Fury in the Pro Volleyball Federation (recently announced to be taking the name Major League Volleyball), and it is unclear if she will continue in that role. Stringer is currently expecting with a due date in September. Neither her role with UofL Volleyball, nor having a child in September would necessarily prevent her return to the Fury, but I think reasonable people would allow for the possibility that she would consider all of that a bit much and bow out of the PVF/MLV. Free Agency is open right now in the league with many teams announcing many (re)signings, and Stringer has not been among them, but the period is not over, so that’s not conclusive.

Regardless of what she does with PVF/MLV, we welcome her back to Louisville in an official capacity now, and believe she will make a great addition to the staff.