Kvitle resigns as QND volleyball coach to better serve her growing family

QUINCY — Courtney Kvitle and her husband, Jason, began discussing her future as the Quincy Notre Dame girls volleyball coach during the season when she learned she was pregnant with the couple’s third child.

Ultimately, Kvitle decided she had to put family first.

Monday morning, Quincy Notre Dame athletic director Bill Connell announced he had accepted Kvitle’s resignation following six seasons at the helm. She compiled a 176-24 record with five 30-win seasons, four regional championships and two sectional championships.

“Like anyone, my family has to be my priority,” Kvitle said.

The Kvitles have two children under the age of 4 and their third child is due in the spring.

“No, they’re not independent yet,” Kvitle laughingly said of her children.

When they are, she may return to coaching.

“I think that’s what is helpful in this situation,” Kvitle said. “By no means do I feel like I’m walking away from this sport forever at all. I love it. I love this sport. I love this sport so much. I’m not going to give up on it ever ever. That’s just not who I am.

“I just think for right now this is what I have to do for my family. Hopefully, sometime in the future I will get back into it. I don’t know what it will look like. If Andi (Kvitle’s daughter) for some reason decides she wants to play, I’m sure I’ll want to coach her. That will be fun.”

QND’s season ended with a 25-18, 25-14 loss to Macomb in the Class 2A regional championship at Macomb High School on October 26. 

In the wake of the loss, QND parents made their way to the immediate vicinity of the locker room entrance while the team and coaching staff were decompressing. The parents claimed they were attempting to remove their daughters from what they believed to be a toxic environment.

The incident led to a review by the QND administration and the decision to implement a code of conduct for parents to better support and protect its coaches.

“We appreciate the leadership and guidance Coach Kvitle has shown over the last six years representing our program,” Connell said. “We wish her and her family well as they start the next chapter of their lives.”

Still, having been a part of the volleyball culture for the past 20 years, Kvitle said it is a little odd to be stepping away from the game.

She was a sophomore on the University of Wisconsin team that lost to Penn State in the NCAA championship game in 2013. She was a setter for her first two years at Wisconsin, then became an outside hitter for her junior and senior seasons and was a second-team All-American in 2015.

Kvtile got her start as a high school coach when she was an assistant for two seasons at Payson Seymour, including the 2017 season when the Indians won the Class 1A state championship. She replaced Rich Meyer as the QND coach the following season.

“It’s a lot to think about when you step away from the sport you love,” Kvitle said. “It’s sad, but it’s also a relief in a sense. I can focus on my family and myself for the first time in a while.”