Coaching Staff
Ellen Herman-Kimball
Head Coach
Ellen Herman-Kimball was formally named head coach of the UConn women's volleyball program after serving as the interim head coach since February, 2019. Prior to her time as the interim head coach, Kimball served as an assistant coach with the Huskies for five seasons.
In the 2022 season, Herman-Kimball guided the women’s volleyball program to strong results in the fourth season at the helm. UConn made it to the BIG EAST semifinals after capturing 10 BIG EAST victories in the regular season and finishing fifth in the conference standings.
Herman-Kimball also guided All-BIG EAST selection winner Caylee Parker, who finished second all-time in UConn program history with 1,621 assists and surpassing 1,000 career digs. Also, Herman-Kimball saw Karly Berkland surpass 1,000 career digs and Madi Whitmire surpass 1,000 career assists.
Herman-Kimball guided UConn to one of its best seasons in program history in her third season at the helm in 2021. The Huskies went 24-11 overall with a 13-5 mark in BIG EAST contests. The 13 BIG EAST victories were UConn's most in program history, while its 24 total wins were its most since the 1995 campaign. Furthermore, the Huskies defeated a ranked opponent for the first time in taking down No. 19 Creighton in five sets.
The Huskies continued their historic season in the postseason, making their second straight trip to the BIG EAST Championship, and made their first NIVC appearance since 1994. UConn hosted a postseason match in Gampel Pavilion for the first time, where it defeated North Florida in four sets to advance to the NIVC Final Four.
Herman-Kimball coach three Huskies to be named to the 2021 All-BIG EAST Team and guided McKayla Wuensch to be named the program's first BIG EAST Setter of the Year.
In her second season at the helm, Herman-Kimball led the Huskies back to the BIG EAST Championship after a 4-4 conference clip in a shortened 2021 spring season.
Prior to being named head coach, Herman-Kimball rejoined UConn in 2014 as an assistant coach after also serving as an assistant in 2011.
The Toledo, Ohio native played professionally with Sagres NUC, one of the top teams in the LNA, the top professional league in Switzerland. During the 2011-2012 season, she was match MVP three times, and helped out the Neuchatel, Switzerland club to finish second in the league. Sagres also reached the Swiss Cup final and the quarterfinals of the CEV Challenge Cup, a European-wide championship. Returning to Neuchatel the following season, she was awarded match MVP five times and the team finished third place in the LNA.
In 2010, she competed for VT Aurubis Hamburg, a member of Germany's 14-team premier league, the Bundesliga. During her brief stint in Germany, she received MVP honors during two matches.
Prior to her professional career, Herman-Kimball trained with the U.S. National Team during the summer of 2009 and competed with the U.S. National Team on their Tour of China during February of 2010. She also competed with the U.S. A2 Team, earning Most Valuable Player honors at the Adult Open Championship in 2008.
Herman-Kimball , a two-time All-American, led the Bobcats to four successful seasons during her collegiate career, including three Mid American Conference regular season championships, three MAC tournament championships and four NCAA tournament berths. She was named the MAC Player of the Year as a junior and senior and also earned MAC Freshman of the Year accolades during her rookie campaign. The four-time first team All-MAC selection left Ohio University as the OU and MAC all-time leader in kills, as well as OU's all-time leader in points and attacks.
Herman-Kimball , who earned Academic All-MAC honors three times during her collegiate career, graduated with a Bachelor of Health Administration from Ohio University in June 2010. She was inducted into the MAC Hall of Fame in 2020.
Peter Netisingha
Assistant Coach
Peter Netisingha joined the UConn women's volleyball staff as an assistant coach in February, 2022.
Netisingha in his first year assisting the Huskies saw solid results in the 2022 season. The women’s volleyball program went 17-14 overall and 10-8 in BIG EAST action. The Huskies made it to the BIG EAST semifinals and finished fifth in the conference standings.
Netisingha arrives to Storrs after spending a year as a volunteer assistant with fellow BIG EAST member Marquette and also working at University of Ohio for a year. Netisingha has coached at four different NCAA DI schools and owns 11 years of collegiate coaching experience, and also has extensive experience coaching at the club level.
Prior to his stint with the Golden Eagles, Netisingha spent three seasons with MKE Sting Volleyball Club in Milwaukee. Before landing in Wisconsin, Netisingha spent three season on staff at Illinois State, aiding the Redbirds to back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference titles. He also served two years as a graduate assistant at Nebraska, where he assisted the Cornhuskers to the 2015 National Championship and an Elite Eight appearance in 2014.
Netisingha began his career as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin from 2009-11, and went on the fill the same role on staff at Ohio for another two seasons.
Netisingha graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
Lindsey Froehlich
Assistant Coach
Lindsey Froehlich joined the volleyball coaching staff as an assistant coach in March 2023.
Prior to UConn, Froehlich served on the IUPUI staff for eight seasons. Froehlich began as an assistant coach in March 2015 and spent the last two seasons as the head coach.
The Wisconsin native brings a strong recruiting and defensive mindset to the Huskies, working as the primary recruiter at IUPUI and with the middle and right-side positions. Most notably, helped middle blocker Hailey Hoffman stamp her name in the IUPUI record book in her first season.
Prior to her time at IUPUI, Froehlich spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Northwestern University where she helped the team to an NCAA Tournament berth and two appearances in the Southland Championship Match.
Before coaching, Froehlich played collegiately at the University of Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide advance to the NCAA Tournament three times. As a middle blocker, Froehlich was a four-time Academic All-SEC selection and then continued her career overseas in Austria.
Sebastian Pokluda
Assistant Coach
Sebastian Pokluda joined the UConn volleyball coaching staff as an assistant coach in July 2024. In the 2024 season, Pokluda was a member of a UConn coaching staff that achieved historic success, with the team tying a single-season program record with 26 wins. The Huskies went 26-8 overall, reaching the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament and Great 8 of the NIVC Tournament.
Prior to arriving in Storrs, Pokluda founded the men's club volleyball program at Quinnipiac University, serving as the vice-president and starting middle blocker of the men's club volleyball team. In 2022, Pokluda won the NECVL Championships on the QU men's club team. Following graduation, Pokluda was the head coach of the women's club team, acheiving immediate success. Pokluda led his team to a 27-3 record with five tournament wins in just his second season at the helm. Pokluda's teams took bronze and runner-up in consecutive 2023 and 2024 NWVCL Regional Championship appearances, placing 19th overall at the 2024 NCVF D2 Women's Nationals. A Connecticut native, Pokluda coached boys and girls volleyball at his alma mater, Fairfield Ludlowe High School. Pokluda was the head coach of girl's 16 at Northeast Volleyball Club and currently assists girls 18's and 17's at Husky Volleyball Club in South Windsor, Connecticut.
Pokluda earned his bachelor's degree in English from Quinnipiac in 2022. Currently, Pokluda is pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Connecticut in Sport Management.