Sherry Fadool  -  President and Executive Director

[email protected]

Fadool has served as Triangle’s Executive Director since July, 2011 after serving as Associate Director. Fadool began working with Triangle in 2006 to provide marketing and operations support for Triangle’s newly commissioned facility. Fadool’s focus on compliance, governance, and operational excellence provided the stability and structure needed to manage Triangle’s unprecedented growth during this time. She was hired as Triangle’s Director of Business Operations in 2007 and promoted to Associate Director in 2009. In 2013 Fadool led the expansion of Triangle’s Globe Center facility from four to seven courts allowing for significant team and program expansion. Her innovative approach to organizational development and business operations have helped distinguish Triangle as a market leader in youth sports. Her leadership is central to Triangle’s mission-focused approach and its strong commitment to grow the sport of volleyball.

Fadool has been instrumental in the development and implementation of Triangle’s extensive year-round slate of volleyball training. Her strength in strategic marketing management has played a key role in Triangle’s emergence as one of the premier clubs in the nation. Fadool has contributed to the comprehensiveness of Triangle’s club-wide training program by leading several injury prevention initiatives including the installation of an orthopedic subfloor, incorporation of the PowerCore 360 hitting curriculum, and development of Triangle’s physical therapy interface with Trinity Wellness. These efforts to advance safety in sport led to Triangle’s selection in 2013 as one of five finalists for the National Council of Youth Sports S.T.R.I.V.E. award.

In 2009, Fadool planned and executed on an eight-week time frame MAPL Raleigh, a 12-court convention center tournament which was the first-ever such event in Raleigh. In 2016 Triangle added the City of Oaks Challenge, a three-day event at the RCC over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. The ongoing success of MAPL Raleigh and the introduction of City of Oaks Challenge has firmly established Triangle’s reputation among city leaders and the local business community as a respected contributor to downtown economic growth. These contributions are among those which led to Fadool’s selection in 2014 as a recipient of USA Volleyball’s Robert L. Lindsay Meritorious Service Award. Her contributions and that of Triangle to the economic development of downtown Raleigh were recognized in 2016 when Fadool received the most prestigious honor from the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the Thad Eure, Jr. Memorial award which recognizes an individual or group who has made significant contributions to Wake County's hospitality industry.

Fadool was elected to the Junior Volleyball Association's [JVA] Board of Directors in 2015 and currently serves as chairman of the America Volleyball Coaches Association [AVCA] Club Awards Selection Committee. Fadool has presented multiple times at the AVCA annual conference and has participated in multiple webinars for the JVA.

Fadool holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Central Michigan and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University. She has over 20 years of leadership experience in community organizations and the not-for-profit industry. Sherry and her husband, John, live in Raleigh. They have two adult children, Jeff and Michelle [Triangle Class of 2010].

Nikki O’Connell

Recruiting Coordinator & Technical Director

Illinois native O’Connell was a standout student-athlete at NC State (1998-2001) and has over a decade of coaching experience at the high school and club levels. O’Connell, a former middle school teacher, was the head coach at Apex High School from 2007-2011. During her five years at Apex, her team won the Tri-9 conference title four years in a row, and she was named the Tri-9 Coach of the Year in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In the 2010 season she led Apex to its first-ever NCHSAA 4A State Championship and the school’s first national ranking.

O’Connell joined Triangle in 2007. During her first season at Triangle she led 18 Blue to qualify for USAV Junior Nationals (the first-ever "2" team from the Carolina Region to qualify). O’Connell then served as the assistant coach of 18 Black from 2009-2011. She helped 18 Black achieve double qualification in the Open Division for USAV Junior Nationals by winning the Lone Star Classic and finishing second at the Mideast Qualifier. In 2011, 18 Black finished in third place at the Big South Qualifier, again qualifying in Open for USAV Junior Nationals.

From 2012-2014 O’Connell was the head coach of 16 Black. In 2012 O’Connell was at the helm when 16 Black finished T9 in the Open Division at AAU Junior Nationals, the highest finish for a 16s team in Triangle’s history at the national tournament. In 2014 O’Connell took her team even further and led 16 Black to the championship match in 16 Open at AAU Junior Nationals, where they finished runners-up. This was Triangle’s first appearance in an Open division national championship match along with Triangle’s highest-placing team at AAU Junior Nationals. 

Since 2015 O’Connell has been the head coach of 17 Black. She has led 17 Black to qualify in Open for USAV Junior Nationals in 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2015, 17 Black finished T13 at USAV Junior Nationals in 17 Open and was ranked 17th by Prepvolleyball.com to conclude the season. 

During the 2018 season, O'Connell expanded her role at Triangle moving into an administrative position, working predominantly with the technical direction and recruiting support services. 

O'Connell lives in Cary with her husband, Brian, and their two daughters, Alexis and Kallie.

CJ Hunter

Assistant Director

Hunter joined Triangle's coaching staff in 2013 and has served as a resource, assistant and head coach (14 Blue, 14 White, 16 Silver and, most recently, 17 White). In 2018 Hunter's role was expanded when he was hired as an Assistant Director; bringing a wealth of sport's administrative experience to Triangle's professional administrative team.

Hunter received a Master's degree in Sport Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill's Exercise and Sport Science department in 2015. While at UNC he worked in the Tar Heels’ Athletic Communications office, handling media relations and game day operations for the UNC Women's Volleyball team. In 2015, Hunter returned to his undergraduate alma mater, Duke, to serve as the Duke Women's Director of Volleyball Operations. In this role at Duke, Hunter handled numerous aspects related to sports administration including community event and game/tournament coordination, camp administration, department budget management, team travel, marketing and promotion.

Hunter was the 2016 recipient of Triangle's Sam Casey Caram Excellence in Coaching Award, which is presented to the coach who best demonstrates exemplary dedication and commitment to the mission and goals of Triangle Volleyball Club. Prior to coaching at Triangle, Hunter coached at Surry Storm Volleyball Club in his hometown of Mount Airy for five years.

Hunter is also a graduate of Duke University, where he pursued his passions in education as well as volleyball, earning a bachelor's degree in Political Science in 2013 and working closely with the Duke Women's Volleyball program as a student manager.

Jeff Wismer

Assistant Director

Wismer has coached both junior girls’ and boys’ club volleyball and has, in total, over 22 years of coaching experience at the collegiate (D1, D3, NAIA), club, and scholastic prep levels. He also has extensive club management experience serving over 13 years in leadership positions at several nationally prominent junior clubs. Additionally, Wismer is well-respected as an innovative leader in the junior club volleyball community having served three years on the Junior Volleyball Association’s [JVA] Board of Directors and another three years as the Keystone Region’s [USAV] Coaches Representative.

Most recently, Wismer served as the Advancement Coordinator at East Coast Power where he led program development efforts designed to enhance player training and support the development of East Coast Power’s coaching staff. In this role he also worked to create and grow large tournament events.

Prior to East Coast Power Wismer spent eight years at Alliance Volleyball Club in Nashville. It was in 2013 that Wismer left collegiate coaching after concluding 12 years as a collegiate first assistant [Lipscomb, Belmont, Villanova, Taylor, Eastern Universities, and Gwynedd-Mercy and Messiah Colleges] to become the full-time Executive Director of Alliance. Wismer served in that role until 2018 when he returned to his roots in the Philadelphia area and joined East Coast Power. While at Alliance, Wismer, supervised their 12-court facility and managed a staff with more than 90 coaches. He simultaneously coached alongside his administrative duties and in 2018 led Alliance 18-1 to a USAV National Championship in the National division.

Wismer’s early coaching career kicked off while he was a special education teacher working with troubled teens in the Philadelphia area. During that time Wismer worked extensively to grow and develop the boys’ game both at the high school and junior club levels. He founded and led two boys’ junior club programs, Central Bucks Volleyball and Buxmont Volleyball Club. Under Wismer’s direction Buxmont 17s and 18s teams became one of the premier boys’ teams in the Philly area.

When Wismer decided to leave the teaching profession in 2008 to pursue coaching at the next level he joined the staff at Munciana, while also assisting at Taylor University [NAIA]. At Munciana he coached “Muncie’s” 17-1 team who achieved top 20 Open finishes at both AAU and JVA National Championships. Since that time Wismer has achieved Open level success on the court qualifying Open USAV nationals in 2012 with Alliance 16-1 and finishing 13^th in the national championship. In 2016, his Alliance 15-1 finished T5 at AAU Jr. Nationals in 15 Open.

Wismer is USAV CAP I and Gold Medal Squared certified. He is an active member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association [AVCA] and worked to help develop avcaVPI™ (Volleyball Performance Index) in 2014 and 2015. He graduated from Messiah College in 1997 having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies education.

Wismer and his wife Andrea have a son Noah and plan to live in the Apex area. Andrea (Colbert) played field hockey at Messiah College.