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18 CAVALIER CORNER I just couldn't get over the great people [at UVA], and that was the most important piece for me. I felt like it was a supportive group and they want volleyball to be successful." Wells grew up in Merrillville, Ind., about 45 miles southeast of Chicago. She at- tended Southern Indiana University, where she played volleyball and, for two seasons, basketball. She then launched her coaching career as an assistant at SIU before moving to Morehead State, where she was a gradu- ate assistant in 2005 and 2006. From there, she enjoyed stops at Winthrop (three years) and Ole Miss (four years), before landing in Gainesville in 2014. With those experiences in tow, Wells is excited to run her own program and make a life-lasting connection with her student- athletes, staff and the alumni base. "I want to create a family environment and that's really important to me," Wells said. "Speaking with members of the cur- rent team, I can see they love each other and that there is a strong connection with these women. I love that and they are invested in every aspect of Virginia volleyball. "Alumni are a big piece of that and so I want to create an environment that people are excited to come back. When you come back for a football game, you want to go to a volleyball match too. You want to meet the players and get to know them. You want to be invested in who they are, their progress and what we're building here. That's the very first piece of my vision, just creating a family environment. "The second piece is being a program that people are proud of. This is what I'm getting from an academic standpoint at UVA that set me up for my life and career. My relation- ships with my teammates were great. The only thing I was missing was a consistent and successful volleyball team. I want them to have it all. I want them to graduate with the best experience, which includes putting ourselves in position to win championships. "The expectation of what this program is going to be is rising. The number one thing is we just can't just talk it. We have to put time, energy and effort in. So far, they're doing it. They're coming back for summer school, they are working hard with strength and conditioning. I think the team is excited and they're ready to take their game to a completely different level." Wells quickly formed a staff to help her achieve the program's goals. In her first week on the job, she announced Kris Grunwald as an assistant coach. She met Grunwald at Morehead State and for years wanted to work again on the same staff. "The very first phone call I made when I got the job was to Kris Grunwald," Wells said. "He was my top recruit and I'm excited that he is ready to join me on this journey to build Virginia into an elite volleyball program. "I've known Kris for over 15 years when we first started working together at More- head State. Our coaching journeys have taken us different places, but the friendship and mutual respect has only grown stronger. He has an incredible amount of experience that I am going to rely on as I transition to the head-coaching chair. His credentials of a high-level trainer, motivator and relation- ship-builder speak for themselves. "There isn't a person in the volleyball world that doesn't know Kris. Most impor- tantly, he is a quality human that goes about life and coaching the right way. Our athletes are going to absolutely love training with him and will flourish under his mentorship." Grunwald, who boasts 29 years of college coaching experience, comes to UVA most recently from Cornell where he was an as- sistant coach. He has enjoyed head coaching stints at Connecticut (2014-18) and Auburn (1998-99), and spent one year at Cornell, but never had the opportunity to coach a season there due to the Ivy League not play- ing sports during the 2020-21 academic year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wells also added Nicole Miller to her staff to fill the second assistant coach posi- tion. With more than a decade of coaching experience at the club and collegiate level, Miller comes to Virginia after spending four years at UC Davis, most recently as the as- sociate head coach and recruiting director. "I reached out to some of the best club coaches around the country and asked them who they thought was one of the best re- Director of athletics Carla Williams called Wells "a perfect fit" and noted "she has excelled at every level as a student-athlete and coach." PHOTO COURTESY UVA