Volleyball team receives new coaches for upcoming season

The volleyball team has a new head coach and two new assistant coaches.

Santiago Restrepo, former volleyball coach at University of Oklahoma in Norman, has taken charge of the Stars. He assumed the post after former coach Jason Muñoz left at the end of last semester.

Restrepo coached at OU for 14 seasons before coming to OCU.

“Santiago has a wealth of experience and a great understanding of volleyball in Oklahoma and the region,” Athletic Director Jim Abbott told OCUsports.com. “I have every confidence that he will continue the success that we have enjoyed academically and competitively in volleyball.”

Restrepo said he has spent his career dedicated to the game and is prepared to begin the journey to the national title.

“To win it all… it takes a long time,” Restrepo said. “Day-by-day I need to see improvement in the gym and commitment from everyone.”

The first steps toward this have gone well so far, he said.

He also said the team is doing an excellent job and working hard, but the main struggle is recruiting new members.

“I have my work cut out for me because I only have eight players and I need to get about seven or eight more,” Restrepo said.

Players still are optimistic.

“I’m very excited for the upcoming season,” Sophomore Striker Michelle Krenowicz said. “Our coach is great and has already recruited a few incoming freshmen. We still need some players, but I know that our new team is going to bring a lot to the table and compete at a high level.”

Three new members joined the team. The team is appreciative of the work Restrepo has put in so far, Krenowicz said.

“Our new coach runs practice at a high pace and sets a standard for us,” Krenowicz said. “It makes us work harder and want to be better.”

Restrepo said the team’s assistant coaches, Shannon Niemeier and Cassie McGlasson, may be the team’s secret weapon.

“We have two great assistants,” Restrepo said. “That’s the reason that we’re going to be successful.”

McGlasson was the head coach at St. Gregory’s University in 2010. Niemeier played for Mid-America Christian University’s volleyball team from 2014-17.

Krenowicz said having assistant coaches is a positive.

“We are so excited to have two assistant coaches. They bring in another perspective on and off the court,” Krenowicz said.