Here's what makes St. Charles' Ned Gruber the Dispatch boys volleyball Coach of the Year

In his 11 years as St. Charles boys volleyball coach, Ned Gruber has helped the Cardinals remain a perennial state power.

His efforts this spring nearly helped bring St. Charles the Division II state title. The Cardinals led the championship match two sets to one before Cincinnati McNicholas rallied for a 21-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-15, 15-11 win May 26 at Wittenberg University .

The Cardinals finished 25-3 and won the CCL at 6-0. Their season earned Gruber the All-Metro Boys Volleyball Coach of the Year honor from The Dispatch after he previously received that award for the state and Region 5.

“It was a really good season,” said Gruber, who is 177-86 for his career. “Obviously, it was disappointing that we didn’t win the last match, but we had our best record ever. (We had) a really great group of guys. We had some great wins.”

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St. Charles was seeking its first state title since 2018, when Gruber led the team to the championship . He was also named state and region Coach of the Year that season.

The Cardinals won their first state title in 2009, and Gruber was a senior outside hitter on that team.

“He’s a great teacher and motivator of the game,” Principal James Lower said. “He really encourages kids to get involved. He and his staff do a great job of bringing them along year by year, and they really enjoy the game for the game it is. Ned is a true teacher. He’s a super person, a good role model – all the things we want in our coaches.”

Gruber’s expertise as a teacher – he teaches Latin at St. Charles – will come in handy next season because the Cardinals lose five of their seven starters, and six varsity players in all, to graduation.

“I loved coming to work every day with them,” Gruber said. “A lot of them were coaches for their grade schools. They are giving back to their parishes and schools, so it was fun to bounce ideas off them and work together. I thought we had a great relationship.”

Key losses include opposite-side hitter Mladen Tague and outside hitter Jack Koesters, both of whom were named to The Dispatch’s All-Metro team.

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Tague, the state and Region 5 Player of the Year, had 297 kills, 115 digs, 60 blocks and 46 aces. Koesters had 227 kills, 146 digs and 105 aces and was first-team all-state and all-region .

With five levels of teams in the program and approximately 50 players, Gruber has helped build a solid foundation and should have athletes ready to step in next spring.

“One of our goals every year is to try to out-program other people,” Gruber said. “Get more guys playing, more matches, more coaches, more chances in the offseason to play open gyms and play club. It’s something we put as a point of emphasis. We always try to get at least 10 freshmen playing every year. We’ve been very successful because we have a lot of guys playing.”

fdirenna@dispatch.com

@DispatchFrank

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's what makes St. Charles' Ned Gruber the Dispatch boys volleyball Coach of the Year