NEW ULM — The new Eagles’ head volleyball coach at New Ulm High School has some roots with the Eagles volleyball program.

Sarah Nelsen, a 2013 graduate of New Ulm High School and a 2016 graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, is the new head volleyball coach for the Eagles.

She replaces Stef Dietz, who took over as Activities Director at New Ulm High School.

Nelsen played both softball and volleyball for the Eagles.

“At Concordia, I was going to play softball there but I tore my ACL right away in fall practice,” she said. “I played until my sophomore year (at Concordia) before I decided to change things up a bit, so before my junior year I decided I was going to be done playing college softball.”

Nelsen graduated from Concordia with a Bachelor’s

Degree in Psychology and a Business minor in 2016.

“The following year I went to graduate school in Brookings, South Dakota where I obtained my Master’s Degree of Science Degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology.”

Nelsen is employed by NUVERA in New Ulm where she is an HR Generalist.

Nelsen said that she is excited about being a head coach.

“It is something that I have always wanted to do within my lifetime,” she said. “I was not exactly sure how this was going to fit into with my career — I was not expecting to be a head coach this soon. But I am excited to bring my talents and knowledge of the sport to New Ulm High School. Stef did a great job and I want to continue from there. I want to take that ground base that she had with the team and I want to add my own things to it as well. Again I am really looking forward to this.”

Nelsen coached the Eagles C-squad softball team this past season.

“So I have been getting along with the girls already and getting to know them personally,” Nelsen said. “We had open gym this summer and I have been helping coach the girls in a summer volleyball league. I am really pumped to be able to take on this job and be back at New Ulm High School where I got the experience and got my love and joy of volleyball and want to instill that in the girls that I will coach.”