MEET ME PRESS…

HEAD COACH VOLLEYBALL, JIM MCLAUGHLINJim McLaughlin, the only person to coach both a women’s and a men’s volleyball team to NCAA titles and a former women’s volleyball national coach of the year at the University of Washington, was named head volleyball coach at the University of Notre Dame January 17, 2015.

He enters his third season under the Golden Dome in 2017 with a career record of 608-243 (.714). The Irish made a vast improvement in their second season under McLaughlin, posting a record of 22-10 after combining for 13 wins in the two previous seasons. Notre Dame finished with a record of 13-7 in conference play, marking the most ACC victories in a season in program history. Of the team’s 22 victories, 16 came in straight-set fashion.

In his first season at Notre Dame in 2015, he helped mentor a pair of standout performers in Second Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference product Sam Fry and ACC All-Freshman Team member Meg Morningstar.

ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH, MIKE JOHNSONMike Johnson, whose Xavier University volleyball teams averaged more than 20 wins per year while he was the Musketeers’ head coach, joined the University of Notre Dame volleyball program in January 2015 as its associate head coach.

Johnson joined the staff of Irish head coach Jim McLaughlin after previously serving as an assistant coach under McLaughlin for one year at the University of Washington in 2004.

In his two seasons with the Irish, Johnson has helped mentor five standout performers in Second Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference products Sam Fry (2015, 2016), Ryann DeJarld (2016) and Caroline Holt (2016) and ACC All-Freshman Team members Meg Morningstar (2015) and Jemma Yeadon (2016).

ASSISTANT COACH, KATIE WILSONKatie Wilson, a veteran prep head coach in the Seattle, Washington area, joined the University of Notre Dame volleyball program as an assistant coach in April 2015.

She enters her third year with the program in 2017. Wilson helped the Irish improve from a 7-25 record in 2015 to a mark of 22-10 in 2016, the biggest turnaround in the ACC for that season.

OPERATIONS SPECIALIST, KEVIN PRENDERGASTA December 2013 Xavier graduate and two-year staff member of the Xavier University volleyball team, Kevin Prendergast joined the University of Notre Dame volleyball program as the operations specialist in March 2014 and enters his fourth year with the Irish in 2017.

Prendergast, who graduated from Xavier in December with a degree in sport management, assists the Irish program with practices, matches and travel in addition to other daily responsibilities. He also uses the computer program Data Volley to scout opponents by creating detailed statistical reports.

VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH, TUCKER BITTING

Tucker Bitting, previously a highly-accomplished club and high school coach in the Indianapolis area, joined the University of Notre Dame coaching staff as its volunteer assistant coach in July 2016. He begins his second season with the Irish in 2017.

Bitting, a 2011 Ball State graduate, came to Notre Dame from the Indianapolis area, where he was a girls volleyball coach for the Asics Munciana Volleyball Club. With Asics Munciana, he led his squads to a 186-34 (.845%) record over three years of coaching. He improved his record each year, finishing 2015 with a 67-8 record with the 16U Cardinals.