Russ Rose Then (2019): “Kaitlyn is our most improved player since the season ended last year. She’s very strong at the net and is an incredibly strong natural blocker. She attacks balls at a great height and her range has really improved. She’s a great talent and a wonderful young person.”
2019 Season (Sophomore)Highlights and Awards: Earned a spot on the AVCA All-America First Team and All-Big Ten First Team … selected to All-Northeast Region Team … earned a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten Team … won 1 Big Ten Player of the Week award (9/9) … named the MVP of the Cyclone Invitational at Iowa State.
Season Recap: Started all 33 matches and played all 117 sets at middle blocker … led the team with a .440 hitting percentage while totaling 310 kills (2.65/set) … led the team in blocks (149) and blocks/set (1.27) … posted double-digit kills 15 times, including a season-high 17 on .727 hitting in a sweep over Holy Cross (8/31) … hit over .400 with double-digit kills 14 times, including over .500 11 times, over .600 5 times, and over .700 1 time … … ranked 2nd in the Big Ten and 3rd nationally in hitting percentage (.440) … finished 4th in the Big Ten in total blocks (149) and blocks/set (1.27) … vs. Stanford (9/13): hit .517 with 16 kills and 6 blocks in a 4-set match … at Wisconsin (10/2): hit .563 with 10 kills and 5 blocks … Iowa (10/5): hit .688 with 11 kills and 5 blocks … at Michigan (10/18): hit .419 with 16 kills and 6 blocks in a 4-set win … at Michigan State (10/20): hit .467 with 8 kills and 8 blocks in a 3-set win … at Iowa (11/1): hit .591 with 14 kills and 3 blocks in a 3-set win … vs. Indiana (11/8): hit .611 with 12 kills and six blocks … vs. Wisconsin (11/29): hit .647 with 11 kills and 6 blocks … Minnesota (11/30): hit .522 with 13 kills and 6 blocks.
NCAA Tournament: vs. Princeton (12/6) hit .444 with 10 kills and 3 blocks in the NCAA First Round … Towson (12/7): hit .545 with 13 kills in the NCAA Second Round … vs. Cincinnati (12/13): finished with a season-high 9 blocks and added 9 kills on .389 hitting in a five-set win over Cincinnati in the NCAA Regional Semifinal.
Before Penn State: Was the No. 3 ranked 2018 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Ace … was a member of the 2016 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Training Team and the USA Girls’ U18 World Championship 2017 team … did not play in 2017 … went 37-7 in her junior season and finished runner-up with Henry Clay HS in the KHSA State Tournament, being just the second public school ever to make it to title game … recorded 269 kills, a .421 hitting percentage, and 124 blocks in her junior year … finished her high school career with 468 kills, a .397 hitting percentage, and 248 blocks … played club volleyball with Lexington United.
