Peoria Notre Dame didn’t have to look far to find its newest head coach.
Johnny Nguyen was named the new Irish volleyball head coach in May, receiving a promotion from his three-year stint as an assistant coach. The 1996 PND grad replaces Patty Mingus, who resigned following three seasons.
He is the Irish’s fourth head coach in six seasons.
“Being a part of (the PND) athletics team, I learned a lot of life lessons,” Nguyen told the Journal Star, “so being able to help contribute to a positive experience of what they can carry beyond sports I think is very important.
“Just really being there and supporting the athletes as they continue to grow as individuals and as a team. … Doing what we can to support the athletes from a skill perspective and building character and continuing to build good habits when it comes to working hard.”
Nguyen wrestled and played tennis for PND, but volleyball didn’t come into the picture until he played the sport in intramurals at Bradley University.
“(Volleyball) is something a lot of people can play,” he said, “and you can learn, so I just got hooked on it.”
The Morton resident then began coaching junior high at Blessed Sacrament for the last decade. Nguyen was introduced to Mingus through club volleyball and developed a coaching relationship.
When Mingus took over the head coach position prior to the 2023 campaign, she asked Nguyen to join her staff.
“I’m grateful to her for giving me an opportunity to sort of join in high school volleyball,” he said, noting he also coaches for EastSide Volleyball Club.
The Irish made a Class 2A Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2025, losing to eventual state third-place state finisher Port Byron Riverdale in the sectional title match. PND finished 25-12 overall and 9-1 for second place in the Big 12.
All-Big 12 players Lily Dries (first team) and Violet Gardner (second team) are expected to return for the fall season. Three other all-conference players in Mady Gibson (first team), a Journal Star small-school all-area setter, Aidan Maloney (first team) and Avery Ginglen (second team) have graduated.
This leaves some key holes to fill in the PND lineup.
“It’s just putting work in and leveraging what we can do well,” Nguyen said, “and then also being a very versatile team. There a lot of great teams when you make it to the postseason and just having multiple ways of being able to take advantage of what an opponent gives you.
“… Being versatile and adaptable, focusing on those skills and strategies to help prepare our team for big moments.”
PND is participating in the Illinois Central College summer league and attending the University of Illinois, while preparing to be a Class 3A team for the 2026 season.
“We have a really strong volleyball (conference) from Peoria to Bloomington,” Nguyen said, “so I think it’s good that we’re able to play strong programs to help prepare us. We’ll just tackle what’s ahead of us.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Notre Dame promotes assistant to new volleyball head coach
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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By Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
