Bradley volleyball experienced what could possibly be its worst ever two-year stretch in program history from 2014-2015. Over the two-year span, the women went 8-50 overall, winning only three games in Missouri Valley Conference competition.
Despite an MVC tournament berth in 2013, the hot seat was turning up for former head coach Jenny Maurer. It seemed her days as head coach were numbered.
Sure enough, on Jan. 8, Maurer was out as head coach of Bradley. However, she was not fired.
She resigned to take an associate head coaching position at University of Central Florida, which came as a surprise to the Bradley Athletic Department.
“We were planning on Coach Maurer returning for the 2016 season, but we wish her success in her new position at UCF,” Jen Jones, associate athletic director for Academics and Student Welfare, said.
Senior Lea Sack was also a little surprised, but she said she felt the move “made sense.”
“She had a lot of great options,” Sack said. “With the season we had, there was a lot of question marks, to be honest. So, I think she had some options because she didn’t know what the future held for her.”
Sack had nothing but good things to say about the former head coach, lauding her as an excellent “players coach” who knew her players extremely well.
“She really cares about her players,” Sack said. “It’s not all about what’s on the court, but what’s off the court as well, and she always went the extra mile to ask about school and family. She was really good about developing us not just as volleyball players but as young women.”
Maurer did make strides in her first three seasons at Bradley, securing a Bradley record 34 wins in a three-year span as well as a spot in the MVC tournament.
Her last two years with the Braves are certainly not ones she, or UCF for that matter, wants to remember. In UCF’s press release of her hiring as the associate head coach, there was no mention of her past two seasons, nor was there a note of her overall record at Bradley. It stated that she “has a proven track record of improving teams she has worked with.”
However, if numbers show anything, they show there wasn’t much improvement, if any, during Maurer’s tenure on the Hilltop.
The search for a new coach has begun for the Braves, and that hire may be coming sooner rather than later as recruiting season is approaching for volleyball.
According to Sack, the returning players are excited for the new challenge that awaits them.
“The whole mindset of the team right now is just really excited for the future,” Sack said. “Every year, you’re building on what you had before, but this year is a little bit different because [we’re] kind of starting new. It’s just a bunch of excitement for what the future is going to hold, and I know they’re working hard in their off-season right now.”
Sack said she thinks the program should hire a “technical coach who can really motivate and inspire” the young core of talent the team possesses.
The university gave no timeline as to when a new hire will occur.
“We just want to be sure we hire the best coach who is the right fit for Bradley,” Jones said.
