Harding Athletic Director Greg Harnden announced on Jan. 11 that Meredith Rosenbaum Fear will serve as the new head volleyball coach.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Fear interviewed for the job after the former Harding volleyball coach Keith Giboney’s contract was not renewed.<\/p>\n
“I came back here really unexpectedly,” Fear said. “It was always in the back of my mind that I would like to [come back].”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“I fell in love with the game,” Fear said. “It’s tough in how competitive volleyball is getting \u2026 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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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