Rose Wittman might be stepping down from the head coaching spot, but she’ll stay by the side of a trusted assistant coach that’ll take over the program.

Arnold Schmidtberger, assistant coach under Wittman for the last three seasons, is the new volleyball coach at Salina South High School. Wittman remains on staff after a 14-19 campaign in 2020.

“I am very excited for the coaching opportunity,” Schmidtberger said. “It has been a great experience working at South. The players have been great to work with and have been very receptive to working to improve.  The varsity squad has won 14 matches each of the past three seasons and we return several players with varsity experience.  We should have a good core of players to provide leadership for next season.”

In July 2018, Wittman was hired at Salina South after coaching at Salina South Middle School for two years. Wittman spent 15 seasons with the Sacred Heart volleyball program, including the last 12 as head coach. She resigned following the 2015 season due to health concerns. Back then, she also admitted she could one day return to coaching at the high school level.

“We will switch roles, but I am very excited to have her continue to coach,” Schmidtberger said. “I know that she looking forward to having a new role and getting the opportunity to be involved with our team.”

Schmidtberger was a part of Sacred Heart volleyball as an assistant for five seasons, working alongside Wittman. When Schmidtberger was on staff, the Lady Knights went to state four times. In addition to volleyball, Schmidtberger was the girls basketball head coach for 11 years, cross country head coach for four, and track head coach for 12.

Before Sacred Heart, Schmidtberger was at Ness City High School from 1988 to 2004, serving in multiple roles, including head volleyball coach for five years. Schmidtberger led the Eagles to two state tournament appearances in 2001 and 2003. He’s also been active in club volleyball coaching for 12 years.