Meet Jim McLaughlin, New Irish Volleyball Coach

Notre Dame volleyball struggled to just a 6-23 overall record last season, finishing 14th in the ACC with a 3-15 conference record.

That led to the departure of then-head coach Debbie Brown, and led to the hire of Jim McLaughlin, who brings a resume already filled with accomplishments. McLaughlin is the only coach to ever lead both a men's team to a NCAA national title (USC, 1989-90) and a women's team (Washington, 2005). Last season, his Washington club won a program record 31 regular season games with only three losses, earning a No. 3 national seed in the NCAA championship and were ranked as high as No. 2 in national polls.

"I came here to Notre Dame because I think we can win," McLaughlin said. "I told the girls 'why not us'? … Here at Notre Dame, it should be us. I'm trying to think, why shouldn't we be in a Final Four? What holds this place back? It's great academically. We've got one of the best athletic departments in the world. So I just see a lot of positives."

After such success at his previous stops, it might seem like a curious decision to switch jobs at this stage in McLaughlin's career. But for those in the coaching field, there is always a dream job out there — or schools they'd love to coach at.

"In the back of your mind, there are always places that come up," McLaughlin said. "…I'm a Catholic guy, and it just seemed like a really neat place. I mean, it's Notre Dame.

"So when UCLA called me I didn't talk to them, and same when SC called and when Ohio State called. But when Notre Dame called, there was just a feeling like, 'I have to look at this.' When I got home that night, my wife was waiting at the door, and said 'the job's open' … we were up three nights in a row. I flew out here, and I really felt like Notre Dame is one of the few places in the whole country, where if you choose to do it, you can be excellent."

Entering his first season in South Bend in a rebuilding mode, McLaughlin said the top contributors on the team in practices change from week to week. But one consistent player is sophomore middle blocker Sam Fry, a preseason All-ACC selection after earning all-freshman team conference honors in 2014.

Fry gives McLaughlin a great building block to start with in his process of turning around the program.

"Sam's a good athlete, as good an athlete as anybody I've coached," he said. "She's a tough kid. She's very real. She's a little bit reserved, but she goes hard. And she's willing to make the changes. Every day that she does that, that she makes a little change, she's winning. And that's the first phase of winning as we continue to change. She works hard, she's got a good arm, and she's learning how to pass. She's in here every day bugging the heck out of me about how to get better, asking 'can I watch film?' I like her a lot, I like the way she's working, I want her to keep working harder - but the sky's the limit for her. She's got the ability."

The Irish opened their season this weekend at the Blue Raider Bash in Murfreesboro, Tenn., falling 3-1 to Bowling Green and 3-2 to Cleveland State before defeating Middle Tennessee State 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.

The Aug. 30 win was McLaughlin's first as Notre Dame head coach — and likely the start of many to come.