Russ Rose Then (2010): “I look forward to seeing the competitive side of Katie this season and she has to take the step from being good in practice to being good in games. She’s been here for two years and during those two years, the outside hitters in front of her were first team All-American selections. Katie is aware of what she needs to do and I thought she had a good spring. I hope the momentum will carry over. I know she wants to play. She cares about the team and needs to learn how to handle the demands of the very challenging position of being a terminal hitter.”
Russ Rose Now (2025): “Katie was a player who could have been our third outside hitter, our third middle, our second right side. She could do everything, probably outside of setting. She was well-skilled, and just had this incredible fun energy about her all the time that was really valuable for the team’s development, because it is always good to have some comic relief. Katie was always in the middle of having fun, but don’t get me wrong, she worked hard. She was involved in volleyball for a while after graduating from Penn State and then worked for Flo Volleyball. I was, and am, a big fan of Katie. She didn’t play a lot, but she cared a lot. To me, that says a lot.”
2010 Season (Junior): 2010 National Champion … Academic All-Big Ten … saw action in 22 matches, starting 12, and 58 sets … totaled 99 kills (1.71 kills per set) … made 2010 debut at North Carolina (8/27) tallying five kills … had a career-high 13 kills against Virginia Commonwealth (9/4) … had nine kills in 13 errorless attackers for .692 hitting percentage against George Washington (9/17) … totaled 54 blocks for the season … posted six blocks against Florida (9/10) … put up a career-high eight blocks against St. John[apos]s (9/18) … led the team with nine blocks in matches against Michigan State (10/1) and Michigan (10/2).
Before Penn State: Four-year volleyball letterwinner at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, N.C. … two-year captain for the Crusaders … helped the squad to four consecutive (2004-07) conference championships and three straight (2005-07) NCHSAA 2A State Championships … ended with a scholastic record of 119-13 and as the school record holder in career kills (1,500), career aces (221) and single-season kills (478) … her No. 4 jersey has been retired … hit for a career percentage of .419 (1,500-325-2802) with an average of 3.69 kills per game, also adding in 262 career blocks and 623 career digs … named the 2007-08 Cardinal Gibbons Co-Female Athlete of the Year … 2007-08 AVCA High School Senior All-American, Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American and PrepVolleyball.com All-American … 2008 Volleyball Magazine ‘Fab 50’ selection … 2006 and 2007 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year … two-time NCHSAA 2A Championship Most Outstanding Player … 2006 Mid-State Conference Player of the Year … two-time Raleigh News & Observer Volleyball Player of the Year … a finalist for PrepVolleyball.com Junior and Senior National Player of the Year honors … 2007 Great Eight Tournament Most Valuable Player … a member of Triangle Volleyball Club out of Raleigh, N.C. … team was the 2006 Big South Qualifier Champions … a member of the 2007 Junior Olympic 18 National Division All-Tournament Team … 2004-08 USAV Carolina Region Champions … Volleyball Magazine Scholar Athlete of the Month (July 2007) … member of the National Honor Society.