DILLON — The Montana Western volleyball program hasn’t seen a lot of success in the past couple of seasons. But Katie Lovett, a Charlotte, North Carolina native, has taken on the responsibility of turning this program around.
“I want to be a winning program, I want to be an elite program. There are teams in this conference that have been able to do that, so there is potential there. I know it’s not an overnight thing and it’s going to take time, but that’s something I see for the future,” said Lovett.
Lovett, recently an assistant at St. Andrews University for both the men and women’s programs, earned the Appalachian Athletic Conference and American Volleyball Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year award — accolades that fueled her drive to be a head coach.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to be a head coach, for sure,” Lovett added. “Luckily I had a lot of freedom at St. Andrews, my previous school. I was able to do a lot of stuff with practice, recruiting, all those those things. So I feel prepared, but I’m also excited to run my own program.”
She believes the struggles of the Bulldog program in recent years stems from complacency to be just an OK team, something that will definitely change with her coaching philosophy. Her key points she touched on were her desire for a positive attitude, a lot of communication, and a lot of effort.
She hopes her transformation of the program can start with the talent she inherited.
“There’s actually a lot of talent with this roster, so I’m very excited about that,” said Lovett.
