Sara Matthews 2024-25 Volleyball Staff

The University of Notre Dame head volleyball coach Salima Rockwell announced the addition of Sara Matthews to her staff Monday afternoon. Matthews comes to South Bend after spending the past five seasons as the head coach at the University of Delaware, and will be an associate head coach for the Irish.

“I am beyond excited to welcome Sara Matthews to the Notre Dame family.” said Rockwell, “She has proven herself as a recruiter, a trainer and a well-respected coach in the volleyball community. Sara has made an immediate impact in every program that she has been a part of in her coaching career. As a former player herself, she knows exactly what student-athletes are going through and what we are trying to accomplish as a program at Notre Dame. I am excited about her ability to connect with recruits, parents and club coaches, but also her ability to train and make players better.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to join Salima and Craig in South Bend,” Matthews said. “Thank you to Senior Deputy Athletic Director Missy Conboy and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick for allowing me this opportunity. When Salima shared her vision of the program, combined with the rich tradition of Notre Dame as an institution, I knew it was going to be an amazing opportunity. I can’t wait to get my family to campus, meet the team and get started. I am grateful to be a part of building something special. Go Irish!”

As the head coach at Delaware, the program saw a dramatic improvement on the court in her five seasons. The team tripled its win total from her first year in 2017, to this season, and saw a similar increase in its Colonial Athletic Association winning percentage. Matthews brought the Blue Hens back to the CAA’s volleyball tournament for the first time in three years in 2019, led the Blue Hens to a 15-win season and developed 10 All-CAA selections during her tenure. 

Over the past two seasons, Delaware had five players earn All-CAA honors. During the 2021 spring season, the Blue Hens had a pair of All-CAA Rookie Team honorees. This past fall, Delaware had two All-CAA selections as the program earned another berth into the CAA Tournament. 

The 2019 season culminated with senior Andie Hanus earning the CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year honors as two other players earned All-CAA awards. The Blue Hens also had an AVCA All-Region Team selection in Ezgi Basaranlar, as she etched her name in the UD record book in career kills and career kills per set. 

“Sara has an innate ability to bring out the best in her team and the people she is surrounded by.” Rockwell continued, “Our Notre Dame team is going to love her energy and enthusiasm in the gym and benefit from it greatly. Prior to Delaware, Sara gained experience in the Pac-12 and the Big 12 and understands what it takes to play and compete at the highest level.”

Prior to her time in Newark, Matthews worked as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at TCU from 2015-16, and served in that same role at West Virginia from 2012-14. With the Horned Frogs, she earned TCU’s first-ever ranking for a recruiting class, and brought in the highest ranked recruit in program history. She helped TCU advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history. She tutored two AVCA All-Southwest Region selections and an Honorable Mention All-American as she helped TCU earn 19 wins in 2015. 

At WVU, Matthews helped the program get off to its fastest start in program history, winning the first 10 matches of the 2013 season. She helped lead the Mountaineers to its first 20-win season in 20 years as West Virginia climbed to No. 74 in the RPI, jumping up 118 spots higher than the previous year. 

Matthews broke into the college coaching world as a director of operations at the University of Southern California after a playing career at James Madison and Kansas. She also served as a coach with the Coast Volleyball Club in her hometown of San Diego for three years. The former Sara Kidd, Matthews is married to Marcel Matthews and is the mother of Layla and Avani. 

“I am also looking forward to leaning on her experiences as the head coach at the University of Delaware.” said Rockwell, “She is incredibly smart and understands the intricacies and challenges of being a head coach and all that comes along with it. I trust Sara implicitly with every facet of the program, and it is so reassuring to have another associate head coach on staff that can be in and handle any situation without hesitation. Sara is one of those people that is a joy to be around and I can’t wait for her and her amazing family, Layla, Avani and Marcel to join us!”