New UIndy volleyball coach is ready to win

New University of Indianapolis volleyball Head Coach Haley Kindall is ready to win. 

Earlier this month, UIndy Athletics announced Kindall would be the seventh head coach for UIndy volleyball after the previous coach, Jason Reed, stepped down. According to UIndy Athletics, she is a former three-time All-American at Wheeling University where she played as a middle blocker and won a national championship in 2015.

Kindall said her experience specializes in “Division II powerhouses.” She has served in various roles at Wheeling, Washburn University and the University of West Florida. UWF was one of the top DII programs while under Kindall’s leadership, winning both the regular season and postseason conference titles every season. She has taken notes from the three coaches she has served under and said she is looking forward to creating her own culture at UIndy.

“Sports win at the University of Indianapolis,” Kindall said. “And that was super intriguing, and Kim Pate took the job as athletic director and she’s well known in the sports world of being a powerhouse leader and that was a huge point for me as I wanted someone that I was inspired by and somewhere that I could win.”

Kindall said she wants to focus on building relationships with the team. She said she took time to get to know the team on a personal level before coming to campus. Since coming to UIndy, she said she has seen how dedicated the players are. She said they have a competitive spirit like she does. 

“I’m really excited,” Kindall said. “These girls have passion, they’re competitors, they’re dedicated to their craft and that’s all you can ask for as a coach. They’re young, they’re inspired, they’re hungry so I’m excited to see what we can do and what we can implement.”

Senior Claire Morris described Kindall as competitive and feels she is what the team needed. The focus is on improvement and looking forward to healthy competition next season. 

“There’s an aspect of experience she has,” Morris said. “She has played volleyball as a student athlete, a female student athlete, so she’s been in our shoes, literally has been in our shoes.”