Skylar Lopas enters his third season with the North Florida volleyball program. Lopas is the first assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Ospreys.
In 2017, Lopas continued to build a strong rsume of Osprey defense as UNF had another pair of middle blockers finish in the top 10 in the ASUN in blocks per set as Alana Shoff finished in third and Taryn Griffey finished in 10th. Griffey (3rd) and Shoff (8th) both finished in the top ten in the league in offensive efficiency. As a team the Ospreys led the ASUN for a second straight year in blocking with 256. Ashley LaBorde was named to the second team all-conference while Devyn Wheeler picked up all-freshman team honors.
In 2016, Lopas’s first year guiding the Ospreys defense, UNF had a pair of middle blockers finish in the top 10 in blocks per set in the league as Morgan Van Alstine led the league and Erin Edwards finished in fifth. As a team the Ospreys led the ASUN in blocks with 272. Gabby O’Connell was named freshman of the year in the ASUN. Katarina Raicevic and Gabby O’Connell both earned all-conference honors during the 2016 campaign.
Lopas joins the Ospreys after a two-year stint as the volunteer assistant coach at the University of Michigan. He worked with the middle blockers as well as breaking down opponents and scouting reports. Lopas helped the Wolverines improve their RPI by 17 points and boost their win total by seven. While in Michigan, he also served as a director of the Ann Arbor location of Legacy Volleyball Club. During his 2015 campaign with the Wolverines he coached AVCA second team all-american Abby Cole and helped lead the Wolverines to an NCAA tournament appearance which included regular season wins over three top 20 schools, including at #4 Penn State.
Prior to working with Michigan, Lopas spent time at Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando, where he was the assistant coach of the varsity men's volleyball team. He also coached the Orlando Gold Volleyball club team since October 2013. Lopas was the head coach of the 18-year-old squad and the assistant to the 14U team.
The Orlando native was also a varsity assistant coach for the women's team and a substitute teacher at Freedom High School in Orlando in the fall of 2013.
