Coach LaRose came to South St. Paul in 2021 with nearly a decade of diverse volleyball coaching experience. He spent the prior six seasons coaching at Ellsworth High School in Ellsworth, WI, and before that was an assistant coach with the University of Wisconsin-Superior and the head coach of their women's club team. 

Also working in the classroom as a high school Spanish teacher at, Coach LaRose has very much enjoyed his time thus far in South St. Paul building a quality volleyball program.

He is the Club Director for the South St. Paul Volleyball Club, officiates high school volleyball and basketball, and plays golf in his spare time.

Nikki Higley brings a wealth of volleyball knowledge to the gym. Coach Nikki is the head volleyball instructor at Drees Performance in Burnsville, where she gives daily lessons and leads camps. In 2022, Nikki founded SisuVolley, an LLC which runs summer volleyball camps for local schools. She is also an assistant coach at the nationally-ranked Century College.

As a player, Nikki had an illustrious career at Penn State as an outside hitter, including two Big 10 titles and two trips to the NCAA championship finals.

Coach Meyer is a 2012 South Saint Paul alumna. She was a 4-sport athlete, participating in volleyball, basketball, softball and track. She ran for Miss South Saint Paul and was awarded the title Miss Congeniality in 2011! 

Marisa has worked for the community of SSP through the Parks and Recreation Summer Playground program and has also previously served as a Temporary Support Staff/Special Education Assistant at SSP Secondary.

Her time at Winona State University, she participated in intramural volleyball and softball. During the 2017-2018 season she was an Assistant Volleyball Coach for Stillwater Junior Olympics volleyball team. Marisa has a passion for coaching and helping her athletes succeed in their goals. 

Coach Sarah joined the SSP staff in 2022 as the C-Team coach, ultimately leading that squad to the 2022 Metro East 9B Tournament championship. Sarah has previously coached swimming and the 16U age-division for South St. Paul Volleyball Club.

Coach Carina has been with the SSP volleyball program longer than any current coach, and she's only 19! That's because she came through the program as a player, working her way up to the varsity team and being voted as a captain for her 2021 senior season.

Ever since, Carina has been dedicated to the Packers, coaching 12U, 14U and 16U teams during the 2022-23 SSP Volleyball Club seasons and finally joining the high school coaching ranks by taking our 9A team in 2023.

Coach Aleah comes to SSP from Humboldt High School, where she played multiple sports, including volleyball, and currently coaches softball. Aleah joined the staff in 2023 as we added a second freshman team.

Coaches Sielski and LeAnne have been pillars of South St. Paul Volleyball for years and first teamed up running South St. Paul Volleyball Club's winter league in the late 2010s, before reuniting as our middle school coaches and giving many Packers their first taste of volleyball.

Both Coach Sielski and LeAnne have several children actively engaged in Athletics and Activities at SSPPS, and the two of them are one heck of a team!