Ottawa’s first-year varsity coach Kristina Kore ‘excited’ for challenge

According to new Ottawa head volleyball coach Kristina Kore, not much will change when the Pirates hit the floor this fall.

“The last couple of years the varsity had great success under (former coach) Jenn (Crum) and much of that was because of how great of leader she is and how much work she put into this,” Kore said. “I don’t feel like I need to change much of how things have been done in the past or the structure we’ve had.”

Kore, who played volleyball at Plainfield South and also graduated from Illinois State University, started her coaching career as the Ottawa freshmen coach in 2019 and had been the junior varsity coach the past four seasons.

Under Crum, Ottawa finished 24-11 overall and 6-4 in Interstate 8 Conference play last season. The previous campaign the Pirates were 27-10 and captured the program’s first regional championship since 1995.

“Any changes I might have I would consider more of a rebrand,” Kore said. “My focus has been on the culture of the program, to just reinforce the values we’ve had and just bring different perspective to it all. I’ve already coached these girls at the lower levels, so I have a special kind of relationship with them.”

Kore said she was pleased with the progress her squad made during the summer.

“Summer for us is about staying conditioned and continuing to work on fundamentals,” Kore said. “We also try and play in as many leagues as we can, mainly in the suburbs. We also play in a really tough tournament in Wisconsin and that also gives us a great chance to bond together. I felt like we had a pretty good offseason.”

Despite the Pirates losing eight players to graduation, Kore feels she has a number of returning and new players that step into the vacated roles.

“We were very senior-heavy last year, but some of the now seniors received some good varsity experience,” Kore said. “Senior hitter Bella Markey brings back the most varsity time and I’m hoping she’ll take on a leadership role on the floor for us. I also feel like Bella Knoll will make an impact after a really solid JV season last year.”

Ottawa is schedule to open the season on the road against Dunlap on Aug. 26.

“I’m more excited than nervous,” Kore said. “I feel like I’m in a unique position having known all of these girls and having seen their progression as they’ve gotten older. I know what they can do, what they are capable of and it’s a great group of girls to work with. There will be a learning curve for me for sure, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”