CHICAGO — Pedro Mendes was coaching Hylte/Halmstad VBK in Sweden two years ago.
On Tuesday, the new Northwestern assistant coach was sitting in a conference room in the Big Ten Network office building as the public face for the volleyball program and answering questions about a lawsuit alleging hazing during the 2020-21 season.
Mendes was filling in for head coach Shane Davis at the second annual Big Ten Conference volleyball media days after the school issued a statement at 5:30 p.m. on Monday saying he would not attend the event.
Mendes, who was hired as a full-time assistant coach in February after serving as a volunteer coach for a year, couldn’t get into many details about the allegations since he wasn’t at the school when the alleged incidents occurred. However, he said that he hasn’t seen anything negative during his time with the Wildcats.
“I don’t think since I joined the team I have ever experienced or heard or seen any type of situation where I would consider myself or the players around me as hazing,” he said. “The way we coach, at least, again, from my time here, it’s been a lot about respect, and we try to keep the standards pretty high, but we’re always trying to make sure that the athletes are feeling respected and heard. That’s how we do it, and we’re going to keep doing it the same way.”
Sophomore defensive specialist Ellee Stinson also addressed the topic, saying that she has felt nothing but love during her time at Northwestern. She said they try to be honest with each other, not to be mean, but because they care for one another.
“One of our program values is actually relationships with one another,” she said. “From the time that I’ve been here, I can only say positive things about the coaching staff and feeling welcomed and supported by my teammates.”
During the first session of media day, several teams talked about the importance of building positive team culture even with the increase of transfers.
Ohio State is rebuilding its culture after losing five fifth-year players to the portal. The Buckeyes established new bonds and priorities during the off-season, aided by a trip to Italy and Greece. Senior middle blocker Rylee Rader said she’s never seen a team bond as fast as they did.
“I think the biggest part of our culture that is helping this team is the fact that everyone is so bought into what we’re reaching for,” OSU opposite Emily Londot said. “I think all…
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