Former UD star named interim head coach of Wittenberg men’s volleyball team

Peterson is the first female head coach of the Wittenberg men’s program in the 10-year history of the program. According to a Wittenberg press release, she’s one of a “select few women in collegiate men’s volleyball head coaching positions nationally.”

“We are excited for Jamie to lead our very successful program into the future,” Wittenberg Athletic Director Brian Agler said in a press release. We have a talented team. Their goals as a team are the same. Jamie has great experience and has achieved at a very high level. She knows what needs to happen. I look forward to our team competing for a conference championship.”

Peterson, a West Liberty-Salem High School graduate, worked as an assistant coach for the Wittenberg women’s program in 2022 and 2023. She lives in Springfield with her husband, Zach Sprinkle, a firefighter and emergency medical technician for the City of Springfield, and their 6-year-old son Carter.

Peterson takes over the program with one month left in the regular season. The Tigers are 14-8. Coach Nathan Matthews, who was in his fourth season, resigned to take an assistant coaching position with the Alabama women’s program.

Matthews took over as head coach in the summer of 2021 on the heels of a 2-15 season. Wittenberg improved to 11-17 and 4-4 in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League in 2022, Matthews’ first season, and then finished 19-10 and 7-1 in the league in 2023.

Wittenberg tied for first in the MCVL in 2023 and then won the championship outright in 2024, finishing 19-9 overall and 9-0 in league play. Matthews was named MCVL Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

“I arrived on campus in the fall of 2015 as a freshman men’s volleyball player,” Matthews said in a press release. “During the recruiting process, I became enamored with the dream of introducing men’s volleyball to the incredible volleyball tradition at Wittenberg. Playing a part in building the program up to where it is today has been the greatest adventure of my life. Over the last 10 years, my experiences at Witt have formed me into the man and coach that I am today. For that, I will be forever grateful.

“Saying goodbye in this way has to be one of the most difficult things I will ever do. But how lucky am I to have been a part of something so difficult to leave? And how lucky is our program to have someone like Jamie Peterson ready to take us to that next level? Jamie has been to the highest peaks of volleyball performance. She is exactly the right person to guide these players and this team as they seek to do the same. I will be watching as a proud alumnus as Witt MVB continues this incredible rise. Tiger Up Forever!”