Russ Rose Then (2013): “Katie has made huge contributions as both a blocker and an attacker as she’s really improved her offensive array during her time here. She’s served in different roles on the team and having been a captain, I think she knows what the expectations are and I’m hoping she brings that every day.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Katie wasn’t as athletic as she was successful. She had a high hitting percentage. She led us in hitting percentage and blocks-per-set each of her last three years and was always one of the top blockers in the country. Katie was bright, both on the court and off as she was the 2013 Academic All-America of the Year. What I especially valued about Katie was she played to her strengths. She didn’t try and do things that would have been a little more challenging for her. I remember specifically in the Washington National Semifinal match in 2013, telling her “You need to go in the gap and hit the ball in the gap, and then do the same thing when you look at the diggers in the back row.” She did that, and I think she hit over .700 in that match, by being smart and playing to her strength. After she graduated from Penn State, she was selected for the U.S. Women’s National Team for the 2014 NORCECA World Championship Qualifying Tournament, along with Maddie Martin. She returned home and went to grad school and coached at her former club.”
2013 Season (Senior)Highlights and Awards: 2013 National Champion … Slay’s .403 hitting percentage ranked 3rd in the Big Ten and 26th nationally, while her 1.68 blocks per set ranked 3rd in the nation and led the conference … CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District honoree … Preseason All-Big Ten team … Earned Penn State Invitational All-Tournament team honors … matched a career-high mark with 16 kills against No. 11 Minnesota (10/9), totaling a season-high 10 blocks for her first double-double of the season … had 6 kills and 8 blocks against No. 19 Wisconsin (10/12) … earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for her efforts against the Gophers and the Badgers … posted a team-high 5 blocks against No. 14 Purdue (11/8), tallying 9 kills … led the team with 5 blocks against Indiana (11/9), adding 6 kills, on her way to Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors … led the team with 8 blocks at No. 14 Wisconsin (11/15), adding 4 kills … ranked 1st on the team with 8 blocks at No. 11 Minnesota (11/16), tallying 7 kills for her 2nd consecutive Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Season Recap: Started all 36 matches and played in all 127 sets … led the team in blocking in 22 of 26 matches played in 2013 … led the team in kills 3 times … led the team with 207 blocks, ranking 1st with a 1.63 blocks/set average … averaged 2.16 kills/set on .414 hitting … recorded double-digit kills with 12 against No. 6 Texas (9/7), adding 4 blocks … totaled 11 kills, 2 digs and 6 blocks against No. 15 Michigan State (9/27) … set a season-high mark with 9 blocks against No. 10 Michigan (9/28), adding 6 kills … had 5 kills against Indiana (10/3), posting 5 blocks, … notched 11 kills at No. 24 Purdue (10/5) as well as 1 dig and 8 blocks … … Recorded 12 kills and 4 blocks at Illinois (10/18) … led the team with8 blocks at Northwestern (10/20) adding 4 kills … led the team with 7 blocks at No. 17 Michigan (11/1), adding 4 kills … notched 5 kills on .556 hitting, while also tallying 5 blocks at No. 14 Michigan State (11/2).
NCAA Tournament: Registered 10 total blocks, along with 9 kills, in the 3-2 win over Stanford in the Regional Finals.
Before Penn State: Four-year varsity letterwinner and two-year captain at Wakefield High School in Raleigh, N.C. … three-time Cap-7 All-Conference honoree … 2009 Cap-7 Conference Player of the Year… named Cap-7 Academic All-Conference three times … 2008-09 Wakefield High Female Athlete MVP… First Team AVCA/Under Armour, ESPN RISE, Volleyball Magazine and PrepVolleyball.com High School All-American (2010)… Sports Imports – Fab 50 … ranked No. 18 college recruit by PrepVolleyball.com … named Raleigh News and Observer 2009 Volleyball Player of the Year … as a member of Triangle[apos]s 18 Black club team, placed first in 18 Open Lone Star Qualifier and second in 18 Open Mid-East Qualifier (2009-10) … named to the USA Women’s Junior National Team sophomore and junior year … won the NORCECA Continental Championship U-20 in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico… four-year Lamp of Knowledge award winner … member of National Honor Society… also lettered in basketball.
