Kim Berrington has found great success in her first year as the Siena Heights University women’s volleyball coach, leading the team to a 21-11 overall record in her first season. Now, the former Eastern Michigan University coach has a new task at hand: men’s volleyball.

This will be Berrington’s first year coaching varsity men’s volleyball, although she does have two years of experience as the Eastern Michigan men’s club team head coach several years ago.
“The men’s game is so much more explosive and dynamic. The angles of probability are very different,” Berrington said about the differences between men’s and women’s volleyball. “I look forward to having to look at things differently, maybe more outside of the box, than I have in the past.”

The Siena Heights men’s volleyball program is coming off a 12-12 record from the 2015 season, and will get a nice measuring stack of where they stand in their season opening tournament at Lourdes (Ohio) Jan. 22-Jan 23.
“For an opening tournament, it really doesn’t get much bigger,” Berrington said. “Three of the teams we play are ranked in the top 10. The guys are pumped about playing ranked teams. For me, it will give me a better idea of how high the bar is for us to be successful not only in the Mideast Conference, but nationally.”

Being a late hire for both the men’s and women’s volleyball programs, Berrington was unable to recruit a freshman class. Because of this, the Saints will rely heavily on key returners and transfers.

Among the returners, sophomore Tyler Hubbard-Neil and junior Brody Davidson are expected to lead the way.
“Tyler will be a six rotation player for us. He is explosive and has a nice fast arm,” Berrington said. “Brody is another high flyer who is becoming more versatile offensively. He can terminate the ball from several positions.”
Juniors Matt Dugan and John Kalugar, along with senior Jeff Hardman, are all key players who once left the program and have decided to return under Berrington’s tenure. Berrington expects their upperclassmen experience to help the team in terms of IQ and leadership.

In her first year as head coach, Berrington’s goal for the team can be simplified in one word: compete.
“I expect that we will compete every night,” she said. “I expect that we become a team who has pride in laying a foundation for a program to move forward. And, I expect that we have success.”

The Saints first home match will be against Lawrence Tech Jan. 27 in the SHU Fieldhouse, and Berrington said she hopes for similar crowds that helped propel the women’s team to an 11-1 home record.
“We had some great crowds here for the women’s matches,” Berrington said. “I really think the women used the crowd to build momentum at home. It was an exciting environment. Athletes feel a greater sense of pride when their friends, families and fans are cheering for them.”

While Berrington acknowledges and expects this season to be one of ups and downs just like any sport, she did not shy away from her end objective.

“We need to see some good things and bad things on film so we can start the process of improving,” she said. “The ultimate goal is to win the conference and qualify for nationals. So, it is not about how well we start, but how well we finish the season.”