Former UTC standout Kari Krouse has been hired as the head volleyball coach at Notre Dame High School.
Krouse was chosen All-Southern Conference four years while playing for the Lady Mocs from 2000-04. She was conference freshman of the year and still holds the school's service ace record.
While playing for Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., Krouse was chosen all-area and all-sectional.
Krouse will be a non-faculty coach for Notre Dame, where she succeeds Dan Basler. Krouse will continue to teach third grade at Gilbert Elementary School in Walker Valley.
She has been an assistant coach with the Choo Choo Club headed by GPS' Paul Brock the last two years.
"I'll be intense and I'll be vocal,'' Krouse said Tuesday while helping with the UTC summer camp. "I hope to take the Notre Dame program to a new level. I'll be very involved with the program.
"I also grew up Catholic and it will be great to get back to a Catholic school.''
HIGH SCHOOL RESUME
As a senior in high school, Krouse had 322 kills and 99 service aces her senior year. The Saints lost in the state sectionals in 1999. Her junior season, Bishop Dwenger made the semi-state round, just one match before the state tournament.
She also lettered in basketball four years and at 5-8 was the team's center. Krouse played softball for four years and earned 11 varsity letters, and was also was on the honor roll.
UTC RESUME
Kari Krouse, one of the most decorated Chattanooga volleyball players in school history, served one year as a Lady Mocs' student assistant.
Krouse is the only four-time All-SoCon selection in school history (2000-2003) and the only UTC volleyball player to earn AVCA All-South Region honors (2003). She was also the 2000 SoCon Freshman of the Year and is UTC’s career leader in aces and attacks.
Krouse’s electrifying jump serves resulted in 290 career aces. She holds the top four single-season aces marks at UTC, including 92 in 2001 when she was ranked No. 3 nationally in service aces. She produced 67 aces in 2004, 66 in 2000 and 65 in 2002.
She finished her career with 1,625 career kills and led Chattanooga in that category each of the last three seasons. Krouse tallied 1,769 career digs, and she is one of just five players to pile up more than 500 digs in a season. She had 504 digs in 2003 and was ranked 44th nationally in digs per game in 2003.
She also picked up an All-SoCon Tournament honor in 2001. She is the daughter of Joseph and Karen Krouse.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)