COACHING STAFF

Michael Sopocy  |  Women's Head Coach

Coach Michael Sopocy enters his seventh season as the head coach of the North Park women's volleyball program in 2025.

Sopocy has led Viking Volleyball to new heights in only a few seasons at the helm, securing the program's first CCIW title in 2023. The Vikings set new highs in '23 with a national ranking of 13th en route to double-champ status with a CCIW regular season title and tournament championship. He earned his second CCIW Coach of the Year honors in a row after his undefeated 2023 CCIW season.

In the fall of 2022, Sopocy coached the NPU women's volleyball team to a plethora of "first evers". The Vikings finished second in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) standings, won the CCIW Tournament championship, and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, NPU WVB received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25. All of these feats led to Sopocy being named the 2022 CCIW Coach of the Year.

Sopocy recruited and developed the program's first All-American, Adriana Rodriguez, who was named an AVCA First Team All-American after the 2022 season. Rodriguez was also the AVCA Region VIII Player of the Year.

Prior to North Park, Sopocy assisted with Bowling Green State's women's volleyball program (2003-2004) where he worked primarily in defensive development. Continuing his coaching within Division I athletics, Sopocy was an assistant coach at Cleveland State University in 2006. Again, he worked primarily in defensive development, focusing on the liberos and defensive specialists.

Sopocy also has an established base at the high school level. In his first season as Head Volleyball Coach for Resurrection Prep, Sopocy led the girls to the State championship game. He also drove Resurrection Prep to the best record in school history (33-9), including their first-ever GCAC Conference Championship and first ever Super-Sectional win.  The 2017 Resurrection Volleyball team is now decorated as the Best Sports Team in Resurrection history.

No stranger to North Park, Sopocy served as an Assistant Coach with the women's volleyball team from 2012-2014. During that time, he was in charge of position training, player development, recruiting, and game planning. He also served as the strength and conditioning coach.

Christina Gatta  |  Assistant Coach

Christina Gatta enters her first season as a coach with the North Park Women's Volleyball team in 2025.

Gatta was a two-time CCIW Setter of the Year (2022, 2023) and three-time All-CCIW selection in her time with North Park. Gatta established new single-season records for North Park in 2023 with 1,085 assists and 80 aces. She's the program's all-time leader in career assists (3,749) and aces (287). She had 30-or-more assists in 24 matches last season, including a pair of matches with 50+.

In 2024, Gatta led the CCIW with 310 assists while averaging 9.39 per set and was also far-and-ahead the aces leader with 26 (0.79 per set). She was the captain on the 2022 squad that qualified NPU for its first ever appearane in the NCAA Tournament.

Gatta concluded her collegiate career as an AVCA All-Region 8 selection and was named North Park's Female Athlete of the Year.

Brittany Welch  |  Men's Head Coach

Welch joined the North Park Volleyball programs in the summer of 2023, assisting both the Men's and Women's Team. She became the head coach of NPU Men's Volleyball in the spring of 2024, completing her first season at the helm in April 2025.

Welch carried out a fantastic collegiate career at Division I Oakland University from 2019-2021, earning Horizon League Freshman of the Year accolades en route to securing a nomination for the 2019 Women's Newcomer of the Year. She was also the "Player of the Game" on nineteen separate occasions. The outside hitter from Chicago Ill. totaled 582 kills (2.20 per set), 22 service aces, 65 blocks, and 376 digs in her three seasons with the Grizzlies.

In addition to her busy schedule as a student-athlete, Welch was a sideline reporter through ESPN+, working with the basketball, baseball, and softball teams at Oakland. She assisted in the production of live streams, graphics, press releases, and social media growth. Welch, a Communication major and Journalism minor, also spent time with The Oakland Post as a sportswriter and was a host on "The Pulse", which produced daily sports news for Oakland Athletics.

Louis Green  |  Assistant Coach

Adriana Rodriguez  |  Graduate Assistant Coach

Four-time All-CCIW selection Adriana Rodriguez joined the North Park Women's Volleyball coaching staff in the summer of 2025, entering her first season on the sidelines.

Rodriguez is North Park's All-Time leader in Kills (1,861) Attacks (5,246), and Points (2,145), showcasing as one of the best players in Viking history. She is the first Viking to secure four first-team all-conference honors and holds multiple single-season records for NPU.

Rodriguez was a first-team All-American in the Vikings' historic 2022 season where they qualified for their first ever NCAA Tournament, concluding the season with CCIW Offensive Player of the Year Honors, AVCA Region VIII Player of the Year recognition, and CSC First Team Scholar All-American status.

Rodriguez ended her career (2021-2024) as North Park's Co-Female Athlete of the Year in the spring of 2025.

Max Bongratz | Middle Blockers & Blocking Coach

Max Bongratz enters his first season with the Viking Volleyball coaching staff in 2025. Bongratz played collegiate volleyball at CCIW familiar Carthage College (2015-2018), earning playing time at one of the nation's top Division III men's volleyball programs. A middle blocker, Bongratz totaled 51 aces 252 kills, and 15 blocks in his collegiate career. He had a single-season high of 87 blocks in his 2017 junior season, where he also added 150 kills.