Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook head women’s volleyball coach Coley Pawlikowski has announced the hiring of Garrett Bitter as an assistant coach with the Seawolves program.

“On behalf of our program, we are incredibly excited to welcome Garrett to the Seawolves family,” said Pawlikowski. “The foundation of Garrett's coaching philosophy is built on putting the student-athlete first, and his vision and character parallel and compliment what we have in place within our program. At IPFW, Garrett has had the uniquely beneficial experience of working with a handful of strong coaches and administrators on both the men's and women's side of the game. He has been an incredible asset to the programs he has been a part of at IPFW, and as a former Division I player, he brings both playing and coaching experience at a high level. We are thrilled with the opportunity to bring Garrett aboard and with the impact he will have on our program, most importantly our student-athletes’ experience.”

Bitter joins the Seawolves after three years as an assistant at IPFW. While with the Mastodons, worked with the program’s setters. In his first year in 2013, IPFW setter Madison Spence led the Summit League in assists/set (11.01). In 2015, Bitter worked with freshman setter Madison Juqua to a Summit League All-Freshman team honor. Bitter also oversaw offensive gameplanning, scouting, recruiting and video analysis.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity and excited to be joining the Stony Brook family,” said Bitter. “When I interviewed with Coley Pawlikowski, Dan Pawlikowski, the players, and the Stony Brook staff, it was clear that this was a great fit, we shared similar philosophies and values. I look forward to building a championship culture and providing our student-athletes with an exceptional experience academically and athletically."

Coaching experience for Bitter dates back to 2007 when he first started working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club in his hometown of Aurora, Ill. He most recently became the head coach of the boys 16 and 14 Runbirds after serving as an assistant coach for the boys 17 Mizuno's for two years.

Bitter has been involved with multiple camps including Attack / Pass, Boys All Skills, Setting Academy, 1st Contact Academy, Middle Blocker Academy and Collegiate Setting camps. He also spent five years as the head coach for the Boys Summer Program of the Sports Performance Volleyball Club.

On top of working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club, Bitter also spent time at Waubonsie Valley (Ill.) HS coaching boys' volleyball in the spring of 2013. He was an assistant coach for the varsity level team and was responsible for training setters as well as working with liberos on defensive strategies. Bitter also coached at Geneva (Ill.) HS, working with the girls’ program.

As a player, Bitter began his volleyball career at Waubonsie Valley HS where he was a four-year letterwinner and a two-time team captain. Bitter was an all-conference selection at the setter position and he also led his team to a conference and regional championship in 2006.

Bitter continued his career at IPFW while also participating on multiple teams at the Sports Performance Volleyball Club. He was a 2010 MIVA Academic All-Conference selection as a Mastodon and a two-time team captain at the volleyball club.

Bitter holds both a bachelors and masters degree from IPFW, graduating in 2012 with a bachelors in mathematics teaching before gaining his masters in educational leadership in 2015.