Students interviewed by The Dartmouth declined to comment regarding the reason for Larese's resignation. Larese did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
"I think that [Larese]'s dedication to the volleyball program was definitely apparent through the number of years she spent coaching at Dartmouth," assistant coach and former player Kathryn Hirsch '08 said. "I don't want to speak for her, but it seemed to me that coaching at Dartmouth was more than just a job for her. She really cared for her players and assistant coaches and through that created a feeling of family for everyone involved in the program."
Larese coached eight teams to a split or winning record during her time with the Big Green, including the 1997 and 1998 teams that finished runners-up in the Ivy League. Larese, who began her tenure with a 2-18 record, finished her time at Dartmouth with a 1411 winning season.
"She is unlike any other coach that I've ever had in my life and we will all miss her so much," captain Jessica Hartman '11 said. "She was almost a motherly figure to all of us and we all had strong personal relationships with her."
Larese's relationships with individual players made her a more effective coach, Hartman said.
Throughout her career, Larese trained 14 players who won a total of 30 All-Ivy honors. Three of those players were selected as First Team All- Ivy players at least once. Coaches who worked under Larese have also experienced success, as two of her former assistant coaches moved on to head coaching positions at other Division I schools.
"From the moment you become part of the program, she teaches you not only how to be a great volleyball player, but more importantly how to be a strong woman," Hartman said. "She taught us to appreciate athletics as a tool to make us stronger individuals. She constantly stressed to us how difficult situations in games would help us later on in life. She was more than just a volleyball coach, she was almost like a life coach."
Larese's teams have excelled beyond the athletic arena, as the 2009-2010 squad won the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award. Under Larese's leadership, the team also served the community through various projects with organizations such as Children's Hospital at Dartmouth and David's House.
"She has always emphasized the importance of us giving back to the community," Kelsey Johnson '11 said. "She was adamant that as athletes and members of the Dartmouth community we had to present ourselves in a positive manner and really become good people off the court as well."
The Dartmouth athletic department will immediately begin the search for a new head coach, according to DartmouthSports.com. The team could have a new leader as early as mid-February depending on the length of the interview process, Hirsch said, while noting that the process could also take significantly longer.
"Until a new head coach is hired, individual training with the freshmen will be led by assistant coach Heather Somers and myself," Hirsch said.
Transitioning to a new head coach may initially prove difficult, Meghan Cooney '14 said.
"In the end, though, I know that we are going to get a coach who wants to win as much as we do," she said. "So we'll just have to work hard and try and adjust to their coaching style so that we can improve."
Next year's senior class will assist in the transition, according to Johnson.
"I'm really not worried at all," Johnson said. "The '12s are extremely talented and a class full of leaders. They will be the biggest senior class that we've had in the last four years, so this really is the best situation that it could have happened in."
