The Online Reflector

Jason Reed has been hired as the new head coach for the University of Indianapolis volleyball team, replacing former head coach Jody Rogers. Reed’s new position was announced on the athletics website on March 18, and he now has begun practices with the returning players from last year.
“He [Reed] is a young coach who is hungry. He’s got a great background. He’s enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and he’s hungry to be a head coach,” said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sue Willey.
Most recently, Reed spent two years as an assistant coach at North Dakota State University. Before that, he spent four years at Western Michigan University. Reed’s total winning percentage with the two schools was .670, and he helped each team to an NCAA tournament appearance. He plans to continue this success at UIndy.

UIndy Head Volleyball Coach Jason Reed talks to a student athlete from NDSU during a volleyball match. Photo contributed by Matt Holmes.

“I’m honored that UIndy took the chance on me. I’m very confident in my ability to do well. But somebody had to give that first chance, and I couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Reed said. “The cupboards are stocked, there are great people here and great leadership. It’s a situation where I can be successful, but more importantly the team can be successful.”
The Greyhounds’ 2012 season ended in the NCAA Division II Final Four, which was the farthest the program had ever gone in the NCAA tournament.  The team will return in 2013 without three starters and with the new head coach. Sophomore setter Meghan Binkerd said she believes the team will come back strong.
“A lot of the seniors were really good leaders in showing the underclassmen what their role should be in the future,” Binkerd said. “They [the seniors] did a really good job of helping our bench. Whoever takes their spot next year will be as good as the seniors were.”
Reed has begun practices and hopes to become more acquainted with his team over the next month.
“Right now, I’m in evaluation, trying to see what we have in the gym. I’m trying to see what we have before we start making changes,” Reed said. “I’m similar in the way I see the game to the way Jody did. I like speed. I’m a speed guy.”
Unlike Rogers, however, Reed hopes in the long term to add more physical strength to the team and also put more emphasis on serving aggressively. With this, he hopes to increase the team’s all-around balance, so the team is prepared in the event that an opponent would have an answer to their speed. According to Binkerd, the team is prepared for this transition.
“It might be a little bit of a challenge just because we’re not sure what to expect exactly. With Jody, we knew, at least the returners knew, but the freshmen didn’t. So now we’re kind of all freshmen again,” Binkerd said. “But after spring season, and going into next year, we’ll know what to expect and what he [Reed] expects from us. I think that we’re a good team, and we want to win, so we will be fine.”
Reed said that he is confident that he has a team with the potential to put together a great season.
“I’m hoping to earn their [the players’] trust and respect—to where I can get on them a little bit, to where they know that I care about them but we have to get better,” Reed said. “I think that we can get better. So my expectations are very high. I’m excited.  I think we’re going onward and upward.”
Willey thinks this year will be a transition but also a great year, and she is excited to watch the Greyhounds take the court. She said she has faith in her decision to hire Reed as the new head coach, and she believes he is a perfect fit and hopes to fill the assistant coach positions for him quickly.
“We’ve had an incredible number of applicants, so that’s great. We’re working to get it [the list] down to about three or four,” Reed said. “I’d like to get somebody on campus by the end of the month, if at all possible.”
Reed said that he is comfortable in his transition and eager to continue the prosperous tradition of UIndy volleyball.
“I came on the visit, and it was just evident that the people here are great people. All the coaches, the leadership and the administration—that whole thing created this great package,” Reed said. “I know that I’m going to come in and help these girls get better and be successful, but I’m also going to have a good life balance because I get to work with people that I like.”