In the last 20 years, new Saluki volleyball head coach Brittany Harry says a six-month period is the only stretch she wasn’t coaching. During that period, she was a marketing manager for her uncle’s non-alcoholic beverage distributing company, going into Walmarts, Krogers, and similar establishments to check on endcaps and promotions for their products.
Initially, she appreciated the consistency of the job, but her true passion called out to her.
“At first I loved it, because I’m like, ‘Oh, this is eight to five’… but yeah, six months in, I’m like, ‘No, I need to be coaching volleyball,'” Harry said.
This fall, Harry will pace the sidelines in Davies Gym for her 17th season as a head coach and 19th coaching overall. But her career path shifted drastically from her childhood dream job of being a lawyer.
Growing up, Harry spent summers interning at the law firm that was built from the ground up her late grandfather, Robert Dodd. From early on she thought she was headed to law school. At the age of 22, she was still on track to become an attorney scoring well on the LSATs and had plans to take over the firm with her cousin. But Volleyball held a special place in Harry’s heart.
From a young age, she would play volleyball with her neighbor in her front yard using cheap bouncy balls found in cages at Walmart. It wasn’t until middle school where she began playing in organized settings and continued in high school and on local club teams in Champaign, Ill., where she grew up.
From there, she played collegiately at South Carolina Upstate from 2002-2005 as a libero while coaching club teams on the side. Even though she mostly coached to make a little bit of extra money while in college, coaching never felt like a job to her.
When an opportunity presented itself to interview for an opening at Spartanburg Methodist College for their head coaching position, via a little bit of encouragement from her college coach, Jen Calloway, she interviewed for the job. That interview was a move that would change the course of her career when it came down to law school versus coaching.
“I had that ‘aha’ moment when you are going through college and you figure out what your passion is, where you’re supposed to be in your career,” Harry said. “And it’s like, man, as soon as I went on that interview, I was like, ‘I need to coach’.”
She has since been a head coach for 16 seasons for six different programs, winning Coach of the Year awards four times in that span. Each stop in her career has had aspects that were both challenging and fun, and Harry’s top priority has always been to lead by example.
“In this industry, in this job, you can’t choose that you’re above certain things. And when that clicks for you, as a young person, you’re probably going to grow pretty far in the industry,” she said. “… If I had to go sweep the floor, I’m going to do it really well, and I’m going to set an example. Because if I do that, that’s the example I am setting for my program and my kids are going to pick up on that.”
The departures from each head coaching spot were difficult for Harry as none of them were planned. But when Southern Illinois called about its vacancy in the winter, it was an opportunity she could not pass up. Harry relished the school’s desire to win, the passionate fanbase, and how close the Salukis are to her hometown. She is now within driving distance of her family and the move to Carbondale feels like a homecoming for the Dawgs’ new head coach.
Harry strives to be as authentic and down-to-earth as possible, and it showed with her new team with the ink still drying on her contract. After accepting the position at SIU, an introductory Zoom was set up with Harry, SIU Athletics administration, and the players of Saluki volleyball. Harry recalls all of her accolades being listed to the team but Harry made it a point to humanize herself after that moment.
“I’m just a regular person. I am just Brittany. I get up just like all of you guys, we eat just like all of you guys,” Harry said. “… And I think that just being regular and easy to talk to, I think that probably had a pretty big impact on them.”
Of the 13 Salukis remaining on the roster after the 2024 season, eight elected to stay through the spring semester under Coach Harry. One was freshman middle hitter Eva Krakowski who tallied 137 kills for Southern last season. She was excited when hearing about Harry and her feelings were all but confirmed during the initial Zoom meeting. Krakowski is not shy about the eagerness she has for the future of SIU volleyball with Harry at the helm.
“It’s so easy when you’re talking to a group of girls, that you’re coming in, and you just want to have the best first impression. And I think just coming off that she was so natural, and she is just a normal person like everybody else,” Krakowski said. “Just having a woman in this field, it was just really empowering. And I just loved how honest she was about everything. We had a hard season, so she wasn’t sugarcoating anything and just keeping us motivated and knowing that she still believed in us no matter what. Just gave us all the motivation to see how much potential we have as a group.”
One way Harry attempts to grow connections with her players is by having routine meetings. She schedules talks on or near the day of a player’s jersey number each month. The conversations can be about anything, from school to internships to boyfriends. For No. 18 Krakowski, these efforts by Harry display a level of authenticity that she doesn’t take for granted.
“The day of your jersey, she meets with us. And that really stood out to me, because it was like, she’s putting in the effort,” Krakowski said. “… And I think that’s what allowed for such a smooth transition with this group, is because right from the start, there was a level of trust and respect that was built…it’s so much easier to give your all when you know your coach has your back.”
The first assistant coach brought in by Harry was Aleah Hayes, who spent the previous six seasons as a head coach at the junior college level. Hayes played Division I volleyball at Texas Tech and yearned to return to that degree of competition. She has known Harry for years and says the timing was perfect for her to come to Carbondale.
Working at the junior college level, Hayes has experience working ahead of the recruiting trail, as those programs don’t have as many resources, especially in this age of college athletics. Harry and Hayes were deep into the recruiting classes at their previous job, but SIU had just one freshman commit for 2025. Harry and her staff were behind the eight ball, needing to start from scratch as they addressed the upcoming freshmen class as well as looking ahead to 2026. It was an excruciating process that Hayes was acclimated to.
“For me, it was almost a sense of normalcy, because at the junior college level, we do our best to recruit ahead of time. The reality is, our recruiting is a little bit later. So it didn’t feel as necessarily rushed for me,” Hayes said. “So I think that just helped add a different perspective to different things, knowing that we just had to work a little bit longer hours, more travel…”
The constant on the Dawgs’ staff is athletic trainer Samantha Schiess, who is in continual communication with the head coach on the health and well-being of players. She provides updates to Harry on how certain players are feeling and their status for various activities. Schiess also played college volleyball, so she appreciates talking shop with the coaching staff, as well as seeing their devotion to the sport.
“I think [Harry’s] got a lot of great ideas about how to grow this program and a lot of passion for the game,” she said. “And her volleyball IQ is really high, which makes it fun to be in the gym and to listen and to learn from her and coach Hayes as well. So I think they’ve got a lot of knowledge that can really help us kind of grow as players.”
Harry remains sincere with the high school seniors as they take their visits. Growing up poor, living in a duplex, and surviving off food stamps, she resonates with the aura of Davies Gym, built a century ago. It shows potential recruits that they are going to have to work and earn the spotlight and glory. Five freshmen have committed to Carbondale, and Harry believes they exemplify the makeup of players that fit her culture.
“I need a kid that knows how to survive. I need a kid that’s going to like, ‘Man, you give me five bucks, I’m gonna go stretch this five bucks as far as I can. And if I don’t, if I need more than five bucks, I’m gonna go problem-solve and figure out how I can make $10’,” she said. “…If all you are interested in are bright, shiny things, this is not your spot. But if you want to come win 20-plus matches in T-shirt jerseys, that’s the kid we want. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of finding those kids that are high-character kids, give more than they take, and aren’t concerned about the arena or this or that. They’re die-hard volleyballers and they just want to play volleyball, they want to win games, and they want to work their butts off.”
The transfer portal is also an area of focus for Harry and the staff. So far, the team has brought in one transfer who has a lot of familiarity with Harry. Setter Emma Lade was at Texas A&M International for the first three seasons of her collegiate career, two of them with Harry as her head coach. She accumulated 2,785 assists as a Dustdevil, second-most in the program’s history.
The two have known each other for years, as Harry recruited Lade when she was in high school. Lade was planning to follow Harry at West Texas in 2025, but a phone call from Harry would change her plans.
Harry told her, “I understand if you don’t want to come, but you know what you’re going to get with me. I’m always going to be a supporter of Emma, wherever you’re at. You’ve got to figure out what’s best for you. I’ll support you with whatever your decision is.”
The Christmas-time call forced Lade to reconsider her immediate future, a process that lasted about 24 hours. Lade said, “You know what? She trusts and believes in me enough to call me over and say, ‘I want you to come with me.’ I might as well take that no matter how hard it is. Because I know she has always been super direct in everything she says, and she always wants the best for us and will never lead us astray…”
Harry knows the team is talented enough to win, but knows some steps need to be taken to get back to the program’s winning ways. She quizzed the team on what they want their identity to be, and how they want their opponents to prepare for a match with us. The players relayed that they want to be gritty, relentless, and defense-oriented. Harry was in accord but made it clear that the team must carry that mindset in everything they do. She stressed that players must lead the locker room, practices have to be intentional, and there has to be an unwritten rule to abide by those standards every day.
The team has done small group positional training to compete with each other and grow that culture, but also to train that belief within themselves individually.
“We have to understand there has to be a mentality shift here…and that means there’s no choices. When you’re in practice, if there’s a ball flying that way, there’s no choice, like, ‘Should I? Should I not go for that ball?’ If you’re asking yourself, you’re done. There’s zero hesitation in our gym. It’s just go,” Harry said. “… You have to train it… Even if it seems out of reach, it might be out of reach 15 times, but maybe time 16, it’s in reach because we went for it all the other times… If you get beat, it’s because they beat you, not because we didn’t give our effort, right? We’re going to give effort on every single point, and if the team scores on us, good luck.”
Harry’s perspective as a head coach has shifted over the years. When she was in her first job at 23, the main focus was winning the match, no matter how her players felt about it. She was results driven and even though her teams did win, she was not sure if her players had a good experience.
Instead of focusing entirely on winning, her new philosophy is the acronym ‘W.I.N.’, which stands for ‘What’s important now?’ It allows Harry to remain in the moment and acknowledge where she can improve to create a positive environment around her, which ultimately helps lead to a winning culture.
“… Really diving deep with these kids so that they understand that not only are we a coaching staff, but we’re mentors, we’re even friends sometimes. We’re somebody that’s going to push you to limits that you didn’t think you could go. But we can see it in you, and you just gotta dig deep yourself,” she said. “So seeing how that has evolved for me, it’s a lot of growing and being able to be humble and realizing over the years that, ‘I probably wasn’t the best. I can improve that,’ and having that mentality of constant growth… I’m always going to be a student of the game. I’m never going to act like I’m the know-it-all… and just being a good example for what our kids can be in their life.”
Harry’s attitude shifted when she became a mother. Bering a mom impacted whether to stay or leave a certain program as her 14-year-old daughter Melia journeyed through school. She has searched for balance as a single mother and the need for consistency to be a foundation for Melia. Coaching is an erratic job, in turn making her child’s life hectic sometimes but she puts herself second in the household and Melia first, and Harry finds comfort in the stability Carbondale provides for her daughter to finish high school in Southern Illinois.
The two have a code word in place when volleyball becomes too involved with life at home. Melia says ‘waffles’ and it means her mother has to put down whatever she’s doing, no matter if she’s watching film or on the phone with a recruit. Harry strives to be a precedent for her players on the numerous hats they can hold doing this job as a single mom.
“You’ve got to go through it to understand it. Having to always put somebody ahead of you gives you a really good perspective of life… Our players are not 100% reliant on me but they are reliant on the coaching staff for so much. As a mom and as a coach you learn to give a whole lot more than you receive,” Harry said. “… And showing that to our kids, our players, hopefully instills some belief in them that you can do whatever they put their mind to.”
cornices build on wind exposed ridges and summits, suddenly breaking off with little warning. They can be triggered from a distance, too, easily triggering slab avalanches on slopes below.
