Concordia University Chicago Volleyball
Head Coach Kathy Gebhardt

Kathy Gebhardt begins her seventh season as head coach of Concordia's volleyball Cougars.

Gebhardt, who enters this season with a career record of 96-94, led the Cougars to their third consecutive winning season in 2008. The Cougars finished 19-14 overall and 9-3 in Northern Athletics Conference play, good for second place. That followed on the heels of an 18-14 campaign, along with a third place finish (9-3) and a conference tournament semifinal appearance, in 2007. Gebhardt's 2006 team finished 21-7 (third-best in the school's history), and the combined 58-35 record and .624 winning percentage marks the program's best three-year run since the period from 1993 to 1995 when the Cougars were 58-37 (Gebhardt, nee Kathy Krohe, was the leading hitter on the 1994 and 1995 teams).

Gebhardt will enter this season with a solid core of veteran players, many of whom are entering their final seasons. "Our seniors have added so much to our program in their time here," says Gebhardt. "They are very talented and competitive athletes who are used to winning, and our record the last three seasons speaks to what they have accomplished. However, the one thing that is missing is a conference title. We have been close all three years, but this is the year that we would like to clear that hurdle and give them a final season which they will always remember."

As in past years, Gebhardt has brought in a sizeable class of freshmen and transfers, and many of them are likely to play significant roles right away. When bringing in new talent, Gebhardt continues to adhere to the idea of "trying to prepare them to be not just volleyball players but strong young women overall. Shaping their values and morals, strengthening their Christian faith, building strong friendships are all part of creating a positive experience for their four years here at Concordia."

Gebhardt graduated Concordia in 1996 after a spectacular three-year career in which she earned two consecutive NIIC Player of the Year honors. She was a member of the 1995 team that compiled a perfect 10-0 conference record en route to Concordia's last NIIC title. Gebhardt continues to hold Concordia's kill record for a match (34), and she is second in career kills with 1188.

Gebhardt graduated Concordia with a B.A. in elementary education. She earned her M.S. in sports management at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota in May of 2003. She and her husband Shane are parents of Trey, a seven-year-old boy that they adopted from Russia in 2008.