Back at her alma mater, former standout Julie Wiejak is entering her second season as an assistant coach at Loyola. Wiejak, who offers a wealth of collegiate coaching experience as well as terrific knowledge of the Chicagoland volleyball community through her work at the club level, is primarily in charge of Loyola's middles.

"Julie is a tremendous asset to our program," said Wolbeck. "Her first-hand experience as a middle blocker at Loyola, as well as coaching expertise, has helped our middle blockers to excel on the court (Melissa Craig set a new single-match record for blocks last season and Mallory Curran set a Loyola freshman record for blocks in a season). Julie's passion for Loyola University and our volleyball program is apparent every day in the office and the gym."

Prior to moving north to Rogers Park, Wiejak got her start in collegiate coaching at DePaul, where she served as an assistant coach for six seasons. While in Lincoln Park, she worked with all aspects of the Blue Demons' program, including recruiting, and helped them to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001. She has also been extremely active with High Performance Program, an extension of the governing body of USA Volleyball, coordinating camps and competitions while also handling the business and financial aspects of the program for the past five years. In addition, Wiejak has served as an instructor at the Elite Volleyball School in Chicago for the last seven years, helping teach the fundamentals of volleyball to younger kids through weekly clinics.

Wiejak put together an illustrious playing career as a student-athlete at Loyola, totaling 678 kills from her middle blocker position and serving as a force at the net on defense, finishing with 91 career solo blocks and 297 total blocks. She recorded 135 blocks as a junior, a single-season record that was eclipsed last season by her pupil Melissa Craig, and was just as productive as a senior, compiling 342 kills and 125 blocks to lead the Ramblers to the 1999 MCC title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. She slammed 39 kills and added seven blocks over the last two rounds of the MCC Championship to earn MVP honors and also garnered First Team All-MCC honors.

A Chicago native and graduate of Bishop Noll High School, Wiejak was an exemplary student-athlete at Loyola, making the Dean's List all four years and earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Marketing. She went on to obtain a Master's degree in Business Communication from DePaul in 2006.