Sarah Drury Petkovic, a former standout volleyball player for the Cardinals and USA National Team member, is in her first year as the director of operations for the University of Louisville. She began her career as a Cardinal as a walk-on. She not only earned an athletic scholarship her last two years but went on to become a member of the USA National Team for five years becoming U of L's Cinderella story. "Watching Sarah progress from a walk-on here at Louisville to tearing it up as the best libero on the USA National team has been such a kick," said U of L head coach Anne Kordes. "I always regretted that we didn't get to play together as I graduated before she got there. And all her success comes from her upbringing and her incredible work ethic. She is an amazing woman. She will bring her work ethic, her discipline and her incredible organizational skills with her to this job. She is a great role model for our girls." On the court, she began as a defensive specialist prior to the implementation of the libero position. She was widely regarded as the best passers and diggers in the league. She was a team captain and set the school's single season dig record with 534. She also set the school record for digs in a match with 39 versus Cincinnati. She was a member of the 2002 All-Midwest Region team and the 2002 All-C-USA First Team. She was able to balance volleyball with athletics and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in Management while being a fixture on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll. The Louisville native is a graduate of Pleasure Ridge Park High School where she lettered in volleyball, basketball and track. After Louisville, Sarah continued her playing career as a member of the USA National Volleyball Team from 2003-2008. While there, she was named captain in 2007 and won a gold medal in the 2005 NORCECA Continental Championship and a silver medal at the 2008 NORCECA Championship. In 2006, she was ranked fourth in the world as a libero at the World Championships. She also received the distinction of being named an alternate for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. After her five year run with the National Team, she returned to the Louisville area and began giving private lessons while acting as assistant coach for Assumption High School. In 2009, she also was named head coach at the Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy and joined Indiana University Southeast as an assistant volleyball coach under her sister, head coach Lesley Prather who was a highly-regarded former middle blocker for the Cardinals from 1998-2002. |
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