University of Minnesota Athletics
Staff Directory
Pedro Mendes
- Position:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
Former volunteer assistant Pedro Mendes was hired back at Minnesota as an assistant coach on Jan. 10, 2024. He spent the 2022 season with the Gophers before being hired as a full-time assistant at Northwestern in 2023. Mendes returns to Minneapolis with his wife, former Gopher great Lauren Gibbemeyer (2007-10), and two kids, Skye and Bruno.
"My family and I are extremely excited to be heading back to Minnesota," Mendes said. "Gopher volleyball has a special place in our hearts, and I can't wait to come in and help the program reach its full potential in the pursuit to win a national championship. Thank you to Coach Cook, Julie Manning, and Mark Coyle for welcoming us back to Minnesota. I'm looking forward to working with this wonderful group of student-athletes this spring and into the future."
In his first season as a full-time assistant coach at Minnesota, Mendes had a major impact. Working primarily as the Gophers middle/blocking coach, the 'U' improved significantly defensively under his watch, tallying 2.69 blocks per set with 328 total blocks. The team ranked fifth in the Big Ten in blocks and sixth in blocks per set in 2024. During conference play, the 'U' also ranked third in the Big Ten in both blocks (210) and blocks per set (2.76). Nationally, the Gophers ranked 2nd in block assists (594) and 17th in blocks per set (2.69).
Under Mendes' leadership, Phoebe Awoleye had one of the greatest seasons of any middle blocker in program history. She ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten during conference play with 1.64 blocks per set and 125 blocks. The next closest player to her in league play had 100 blocks. Awoleye ranked No. 6 all-time for a single season in Gophers history with 1.48 bps, which also put her at No. 10 in the country. She was named All-Big Ten Second Team, AVCA All-Northwest Region and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice. She also made the Capital Credit Union Classic All-Tournament team. Awoleye finished her career with 644 total blocks, which was No. 3 among all active Division I players in 2024.
With the help of Mendes this past season at Northwestern, the Wildcats went 15-15 (9-11 Big Ten). Mendes helped outside Julia Sangiacomo receive both First Team All-Big Ten and AVCA All-North Region honors, averaging 4.09 kills per set across 25 matches, ranking sixth overall on the league leaderboard in the category. Mendes also helped develop middles Kennedy Hill (1.32 kills per set, 1.13 blocks per set) and Leilani Dodson (2.10 kills per set, 1.01 blocks per set). Each significantly improved their production from the 2022 season under his mentorship. Hill finished 10th in the Big Ten in blocks pet set just one year after playing only four matches for the Wildcats.
In his one season at Minnesota in 2022, Mendes played a key role in helping the Gophers finish 22-9 (15-5 Big Ten) in 2022. He helped coach six All-Big Ten honorees in 2022, including the Big Ten Player of the Year, three First Team All-Big Ten selections and two Big Ten All-Freshman Team honorees. Working mainly with the middle blockers, Mendes helped the Gophers finish No. 4 nationally in 2022 with 2.92 blocks per set.
"Passionate, professional and sincere are just a few of the words I would use to describe the coach we are getting in Pedro Mendes," said Cook. "Since my first introduction and in every subsequent conversation, I have been impressed with his consistency and his character. In today's day and age of college athletics, who surrounds, counsels, and supports our student-athletes is the most important decision we make. We're getting it right with Pedro Mendes."
Prior to working at Minnesota in 2022, Mendes was the head coach at Hylte/Halmstad Volley (Sweden) where he led the team to its first national and cup championship ever in 2021. The team repeated as champions in 2022.
Over his two seasons as the head coach in Sweden, Mendes played a key role in recruiting young players and helping them reach their goals on and off the court. These included being called to the Swedish National Team and finding more lucrative professional contracts abroad. He also helped two players win league MVP honors while seven others were picked to the dream (all-league) team.
During the 2021-22 season, Mendes led his team to the national record for best set average with 93 sets won and just six sets lost over 31 straight match wins. In two seasons, their official match record was 70-2, the best-ever stretch in club history.
Prior to Hylte/Halmstad Volley, Mendes worked as an assistant coach with Eczasibasi Vitra Istanbul (Turkey), one of the top women's volleyball clubs in the world.
Mendes started his volleyball playing career when he was 10 years old and played until his last professional season at the age of 30. He played in Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Sweden and Switzerland during his career.
Born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mendes went to college at UniFunvic in Sao Paulo, majoring in physical education (2012). He's married to former Gophers' volleyball standout Lauren Gibbemeyer, who is still the all-time leading blocker at Minnesota (593 total blocks). Gibbemeyer was a two-time All-America selection at the 'U' in 2009 and 2010.
Playing Career and Accompanying Awards:
1998-00: School Volleyball
2000-04: Club Volleyball (Several clubs within the State of Sao Paulo)
2004-07: Youth Brazilian National Team
2008-10: Funvic MediaPhone Brazil (Played State and national championships)
2010-11: Maritimo Portugal (Best blocker of the league)
2011-12: Paris/Asnieres Volley France (Third place at the national championship)
2012-13: Funvic MediaPhone Brazil (Second place at the national championship)
2013-14: Coburg Grub Germany/ Falkenberg VBK Sweden (Best blocker award; National/Cup Champion)
2014-15: Tel Aviv Israel (Best middle blocker award)
2015-16: VolleyFalk Switzerland (Best blocker award and dream team of the season)
2016-18: Falkenbergs (Swiss National Champion and Cup Champion; Nominated Team MVP of the 2016-17 season)
2018-19: Hapoel Manashe Israel (Best blocker award)
Coaching Career:
2020-21: Eczasibasi Vitra Istanbul (Assistant Coach)
2021-22: Hylte/Halmstad Volley (Head Coach)
2022: Minnesota (Volunteer Assistant Coach)
2023: Northwestern (Assistant Coach)
2024: Minnesota (Assistant Coach)
"My family and I are extremely excited to be heading back to Minnesota," Mendes said. "Gopher volleyball has a special place in our hearts, and I can't wait to come in and help the program reach its full potential in the pursuit to win a national championship. Thank you to Coach Cook, Julie Manning, and Mark Coyle for welcoming us back to Minnesota. I'm looking forward to working with this wonderful group of student-athletes this spring and into the future."
In his first season as a full-time assistant coach at Minnesota, Mendes had a major impact. Working primarily as the Gophers middle/blocking coach, the 'U' improved significantly defensively under his watch, tallying 2.69 blocks per set with 328 total blocks. The team ranked fifth in the Big Ten in blocks and sixth in blocks per set in 2024. During conference play, the 'U' also ranked third in the Big Ten in both blocks (210) and blocks per set (2.76). Nationally, the Gophers ranked 2nd in block assists (594) and 17th in blocks per set (2.69).
Under Mendes' leadership, Phoebe Awoleye had one of the greatest seasons of any middle blocker in program history. She ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten during conference play with 1.64 blocks per set and 125 blocks. The next closest player to her in league play had 100 blocks. Awoleye ranked No. 6 all-time for a single season in Gophers history with 1.48 bps, which also put her at No. 10 in the country. She was named All-Big Ten Second Team, AVCA All-Northwest Region and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice. She also made the Capital Credit Union Classic All-Tournament team. Awoleye finished her career with 644 total blocks, which was No. 3 among all active Division I players in 2024.
With the help of Mendes this past season at Northwestern, the Wildcats went 15-15 (9-11 Big Ten). Mendes helped outside Julia Sangiacomo receive both First Team All-Big Ten and AVCA All-North Region honors, averaging 4.09 kills per set across 25 matches, ranking sixth overall on the league leaderboard in the category. Mendes also helped develop middles Kennedy Hill (1.32 kills per set, 1.13 blocks per set) and Leilani Dodson (2.10 kills per set, 1.01 blocks per set). Each significantly improved their production from the 2022 season under his mentorship. Hill finished 10th in the Big Ten in blocks pet set just one year after playing only four matches for the Wildcats.
In his one season at Minnesota in 2022, Mendes played a key role in helping the Gophers finish 22-9 (15-5 Big Ten) in 2022. He helped coach six All-Big Ten honorees in 2022, including the Big Ten Player of the Year, three First Team All-Big Ten selections and two Big Ten All-Freshman Team honorees. Working mainly with the middle blockers, Mendes helped the Gophers finish No. 4 nationally in 2022 with 2.92 blocks per set.
"Passionate, professional and sincere are just a few of the words I would use to describe the coach we are getting in Pedro Mendes," said Cook. "Since my first introduction and in every subsequent conversation, I have been impressed with his consistency and his character. In today's day and age of college athletics, who surrounds, counsels, and supports our student-athletes is the most important decision we make. We're getting it right with Pedro Mendes."
Prior to working at Minnesota in 2022, Mendes was the head coach at Hylte/Halmstad Volley (Sweden) where he led the team to its first national and cup championship ever in 2021. The team repeated as champions in 2022.
Over his two seasons as the head coach in Sweden, Mendes played a key role in recruiting young players and helping them reach their goals on and off the court. These included being called to the Swedish National Team and finding more lucrative professional contracts abroad. He also helped two players win league MVP honors while seven others were picked to the dream (all-league) team.
During the 2021-22 season, Mendes led his team to the national record for best set average with 93 sets won and just six sets lost over 31 straight match wins. In two seasons, their official match record was 70-2, the best-ever stretch in club history.
Prior to Hylte/Halmstad Volley, Mendes worked as an assistant coach with Eczasibasi Vitra Istanbul (Turkey), one of the top women's volleyball clubs in the world.
Mendes started his volleyball playing career when he was 10 years old and played until his last professional season at the age of 30. He played in Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Sweden and Switzerland during his career.
Born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mendes went to college at UniFunvic in Sao Paulo, majoring in physical education (2012). He's married to former Gophers' volleyball standout Lauren Gibbemeyer, who is still the all-time leading blocker at Minnesota (593 total blocks). Gibbemeyer was a two-time All-America selection at the 'U' in 2009 and 2010.
Playing Career and Accompanying Awards:
1998-00: School Volleyball
2000-04: Club Volleyball (Several clubs within the State of Sao Paulo)
2004-07: Youth Brazilian National Team
2008-10: Funvic MediaPhone Brazil (Played State and national championships)
2010-11: Maritimo Portugal (Best blocker of the league)
2011-12: Paris/Asnieres Volley France (Third place at the national championship)
2012-13: Funvic MediaPhone Brazil (Second place at the national championship)
2013-14: Coburg Grub Germany/ Falkenberg VBK Sweden (Best blocker award; National/Cup Champion)
2014-15: Tel Aviv Israel (Best middle blocker award)
2015-16: VolleyFalk Switzerland (Best blocker award and dream team of the season)
2016-18: Falkenbergs (Swiss National Champion and Cup Champion; Nominated Team MVP of the 2016-17 season)
2018-19: Hapoel Manashe Israel (Best blocker award)
Coaching Career:
2020-21: Eczasibasi Vitra Istanbul (Assistant Coach)
2021-22: Hylte/Halmstad Volley (Head Coach)
2022: Minnesota (Volunteer Assistant Coach)
2023: Northwestern (Assistant Coach)
2024: Minnesota (Assistant Coach)
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