Goals and Values:

1. Increasing diversity and accessibility withing volleyball and women's sports

2. Developing life-long volleyball players, coaches, officials and fans

3. Innovating within youth volleyball to close the "accessibility gap"

4. Bringing South St. Paul Volleyball to the highest level possible

Coach LaRose came to South St. Paul in 2021 with nearly a decade of diverse volleyball coaching experience ranging from youth clubs to the collegiate level. He has spent his time at SSP High School reimagining what is possible within Packer Volleyball. Under Coach LaRose, the program is seeing its highest-ever participation and program-wide success. In 2023, SSP won it's first section match since 2002 and Coach LaRose was named the Section 3AAA Coach of the Year.

Also working in the classroom as a high school Spanish teacher, Coach LaRose has very much enjoyed his time thus far in South St. Paul, also coaching JV Baseball.

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 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!