SDlGCn volleyball coaches Head COach Doug Tabbed Doug Tabbert begins his third season at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology after serving for two years as the head volleyball coach at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska. Prior to that Tabbert was the head volleyball coach at Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina for three years. In addition to coaching, Tabbert has provided psychological skills training to various athletes, including the Kansas State University volleyball program, the Bluffton College (Ohio) women's basketball program and a member of the 1996 United States Olympic Track & Field Team. A native of Perry, Kansas, he holds a Master of Education degree in Developmental Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and Bachelor of Science degrees in both Business and Psychology from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.
Assistant coach Leah Novicki Leah Novicki returns to Tech for her first year as assistant coach for the Lady Hardrocker Volleyball team. A native of Casper, Wyoming, Novicki played volleyball and basketball for Tech from 1991-1995. She was selected for the SDIC f All-conference team for volleyball for three years (92-94), and was selected as MVP of the conference in her junior and senior year. She was also selected for the district and regional first teams her senior year. In basketball she was a member of the 1994 team that was the first Tech team to qualify for the national tournament and was selected for the All conference team junior and senior year (94, 95), She is currently 19th on the all-time Lady Hardrocker basketball scoring list with 1,004 points. While in college she participated in ASCE Concrete Canoe competition from 92-95 and was a member of the Concrete Canoe National Championship team in 1995. She graduated in 1996 with a Civil Engineering degree, and then worked in the consulting industry for 8 years in a variety of states. She played club volleyball in Wisconsin for two years from 98-2000 and Boston for one year (2001) and has always been active playing volleyball in leagues since then. Novicki still enjoys being active - playing volleyball and basketball in leagues and has volunteered to both volleyball and basketball in grade school programs. She now appreciates the work that is involved with being a coach and better understands her past coaches a little more now that she has made the transition from player to coach. Leah looks forward to contributing to the volleyball and track programs at Tech as much as she can. "I'm excited to be working with the great student/athletes that Tech provides and honored that the institution has allowed me this opportunity," offered Novicki.
Assistant coach Lori Whiting Lorie Whiting begins her third season as Lady Hardrocker assistant coach. A1989 graduate of Tech with a degree in metallurgical engineering, Lorie was a member of the Hardrocker volleyball team for four years from 1985-1988, where she was an AII-DAC performer. She worked in private industry following graduation for 10 years and also served as an assistant volleyball coach at Wahoo (NE) High School in 1999. Lorie is married to Keith Whiting (a 1989 graduate with a math degree), and is currently a stay at home mother to Catie, age five, and Tessa age three.