Molly LaMere was named the third volleyball coach in Lawrence High history Tuesday.

She succeeds Jo Huntsinger, who retired last year after seven years at the Lions’ helm. Huntsinger’s last year probably was the team’s most successful under her tutelage, with the Lions finishing second at the Class 6A state tournament.

But Huntsinger was quick to point out that she thought the success was because of LaMere’s impact in her second year as an assistant coach, and Huntsinger said she was pleased with the decision to hire LaMere.

“It’s fantastic. Molly has done great things for us the last couple of years, and I didn’t know her until she started coaching at Lawrence High School,” Huntsinger said. “She’s great with kids, has a ton of knowledge and she’s responsible for the success we had last year.”

The hiring capped a whirlwind week for LaMere during which she also was hired as a physical education teacher at South Junior High.

“It’s something that I wanted to do since I was young — be a teacher and a coach — and they both happened for me all in one week, so it was a great week,” LaMere said.

Lawrence High principal Steven Nilhas said he was confident in his decision to hire LaMere, even with the talented pool of applicants.

“We thought that the final pool interviewed was really, really quality people, and we narrowed it down to a couple toward the end of the week, and I made the decision to offer the position to Molly,” Nilhas said. “I think she certainly brings a wealth of knowledge to the position with her association in playing at the collegiate level and certainly coaching at the secondary level the last couple of years.”

LaMere played volleyball for Kansas University prior to becoming the assistant varsity coach at Lawrence High two years ago.

Molly Lamere carries her flowers after being introduced as Lawrence High's new volleyball coach. Members of the team and principal Steve Nilhas, right, also attended the event Tuesday at LHS.

LaMere said she knows that taking over will be a tall order to fill, but is excited to get the job under way.

“I was really honored at first, and then I had people say things to me like, ‘Oh, you kind of have a lot of pressure on your hands now,’ LaMere said. “But it’s good pressure, and I have tons of people supporting me.”

LaMere, who will inherit a team that lost eight seniors, said she was excited to work with a new crop of talented younger players.

So what’s next between now and the beginning of the season?

“Tons of stuff. We’ve got camps coming up, summer workouts, finding coaches to fill the assistant coach spots and finding other vacancies, there’s so much stuff,” LaMere said. “I haven’t even organized it yet, so I need to get on those things.”