Harding Athletic Director Greg Harnden announced on Jan. 11 that Meredith Rosenbaum Fear will serve as the new head volleyball coach.
Fear, a 2008 Harding graduate, played volleyball at Harding, worked as a graduate assistant for the team and coached volleyball for two years at York College in Nebraska.
Fear interviewed for the job after the former Harding volleyball coach Keith Giboney’s contract was not renewed.
“I came back here really unexpectedly,” Fear said. “It was always in the back of my mind that I would like to [come back].”
Fear started working with the girls on the volleyball team at the beginning of the spring semester. Sophomore Liv Savage, a middle blocker, said the team is doing more weight training and conditioning.
“The foundation of [the program] is fantastic, but recently we have plateaued a little bit,” Fear said. “We haven’t been to nationals since [2005], so while we have always been good, we’ve never been great. I want to take them back up to that level of where the program used to be.”
Fear said she was also excited about being a spiritual mentor and a friend to the girls on the team. Savage said Fear prays with the team after practice and is a constant encouragement. Despite the thrill of wins, Fear said, “It’s really the relationships that stay with you beyond your time as player.”
“I’m very excited to have a woman coach,” Savage said. “I feel it’s better for me and for the team. [We are able to] treat her like a coach and a friend at the same time. It’s really nice to have someone to go to.”
Part of what makes Fear so relatable, Savage said, is that it has not been a long time since Fear was a player at Harding. According to Harding Sports, Fear earned All-Gulf South Conference honors twice and was named Daktronics All-South Region and Academic All-GSC as a senior. In addition, Fear was captain for two years and is Harding’s career leader in digs per set.
“I fell in love with the game,” Fear said. “It’s tough in how competitive volleyball is getting … you have to play year-round to be recruited. [It’s easy to] get burnt out but I never did. I’ve just had this love and passion for it and I think it’s something I’ll always be able to be a part of.”
The Harding volleyball team went 25-8 in its last season, which ended in November with a loss against Arkansas Tech University during the Great American Conference tournament. The 2012 season will begin in August.
