Earlier this season, Pella High head volleyball Coach Bob Fessler reached a major career milestone – notching his 400th career win as a head coach. Fessler was surprised before the Lady Dutch’s home finale against Norwalk two weeks ago with a brief presentation and a plaque, which was given to him by one of his seniors, Katie Sunderman.

“I was the one who actually handed him the plaque, so it was nice to be in the moment, to share with him the 400th win,” said Sunderman. “We were just really proud as a team to give him that. It was just an honor for us.”

Fessler says all of the success he’s had in his career is a reflection of the great athletes and coaches he has worked with.

“When you’ve been around long enough, and you have great kids like we do, you win a lot of matches. A wise coach of mine said that really all it means is you’re old,” Fessler joked.

“But you know what, it’s all the kids. They’re fun to train, they’re fun to coach, [and] they do all the work and I get the credit for it. It’s a neat milestone, but I couldn’t do it without the great kids and the coaching staff that we have.”

This was Bob Fessler’s ninth season as the head coach of the Lady Dutch. Prior to Pella, he coached at Walnut Ridge Academy in Waterloo. Pella went 10-25 this past season, falling to Knoxville on Monday in the opening round of the Class 3A Regional Tournament.