Katie Roberts Signs To Play Volleyball at Greenville College

Katie Roberts (center) signed to play volleyball at Greenville College. She is flanked by her parents, Richard Painter and Tracy Painter. Back row, left to right, Mindy Boswell, Tim Mills and Talia Moore.

Effingham High School's Katie Roberts will be taking her volleyball skills to Greenville College next season to play for Coach Tom Ackerman and the Panthers.

"Katie has been to campus several times," said Coach Ackerman. "We knew that Katie came from an excellent club program and we had film on her. We were attracted to her ability to play a variety of positions and her energy on the court."

Roberts played right side for the Hearts but, according to EHS Coach Mindy Boswell, she could play other positions.

"Katie was right side for me, however, she is a very versatile player and could play outside or libero and be successful as well. She is a very well-rounded player who has a tremendous vertical and a great work ethic. When Katie plays, she only has one speed and that's full blast. Katie is the type of player who sacrifices her body to make a big play for the team. She came up with numerous balls this year that myself and everyone else in the gym thought were untouchable. This same effort is also matched in practice which earned her respect from her teammates."

"Katie's strength is her versatility and we will focus on her ball control as we help her transition to the college game," said Ackerman.

Greenville is the five-time defending champion and returns the newcomer of the year in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the defensive player of the year.

"Our recruiting class is loaded with talent," said Ackerman. "We have several freshmen that will compete for varsity time immediately."

Greenville finished 16-2 in the SLIAC and 22-9 overall last season.

"Katie was a captain this year and led both vocally and by example," said Coach Boswell. "With Katie playing right side this year, her role was to stop some of the Apollo Conference's strongest hitters on the outside. She responded by tallying 33 blocks, which was third on the team behind our two middles.

"Katie's role also was as our back-up setter. We ran a 5-1 so when Felicia received the ball, Katie did an excellent job of distributing the ball to all of our hitters. She proved this by attributing 30 assists, which was second on the team behind our main setter. In addition, Katie ran many quicks at the net for us, speeding up our tempo and earning herself 61 kills.

"Katie has a powerful swing and does a great job finding the seam in the block. To round out Katie's stats, she recorded 55 digs and 17 aces off her topspin jump serve.

"At the college level, I think Katie will excel because of her versatility, her passion for the game and her unbelievable work ethic. She is a player who will leave it out on the court every night despite practice or game."