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The first head coaching search in the history of the IPFW men’s volleyball program ended with school hiring from within.
IPFW athletics director Kelley Hartley Hutton announced earlier this week that longtime assistant coach Rock Perrotte was hired as the new head coach of the Mastodons.
Perrotte spent the last 12 seasons on the staff of Hall of Fame coach Arnie Ball and helped the Mastodons twice reach the NCAA Tournament. In addition, Perrotte will be the second coach in history of the program as Ball retired at the end of the 2015 season after winning more than 500 matches in more than 30 years with IPFW.
“I cannot express in words what coach Ball has done for me throughout my tenure as a player and his assistant coach here at IPFW,” Perrotte said in a statement. “I am so thankful for his support and mentorship during this process, and over the last two decades. I would not be where I am today without coach Ball being such an incredible influence in my volleyball career. I am honored to have played, coached, and learned from one of the greatest people in the history of college volleyball.”
Besides coaching with Ball, Perrotte played for Ball during his college career. In his senior season, Perrotte was named to the Second-Team All-MIVA and helped the Mastodons win the conference championship to reach the four-team NCAA Tournament.
“We are extremely excited about Rock being our next men’s volleyball coach,” Hartley Hutton said in a statement. “His deep understanding of the men’s volleyball program and its inner-workings, along with his solid work ethic, will allow him to build upon the strong history of this program.”
The Mastodons finished the 2015 season in fourth place in the MIVA and lost in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals. The team also was nationally ranked throughout the majority of the season and defeated both Penn State and Cal State Northridge in non-conference play.
IPFW returns three starters for Perrotte’s inaugural season as the head coach, including all-conference opposite Andy Sellan who will spend the off-season recovering from a season-ending leg injury.