After a practice in Bohler Gym, Katy Ryan scans the facility, the home arena for Washington State volleyball.
“Look at it,” she said. “It’s amazing. I’ve never played in a better gym.”
“We get the best crowds, and the atmosphere is nothing I’ve ever seen,” Ryan, a senior student-athlete on the Cougar volleyball team, continued. “I love being able to call this home.”
Home is important for Ryan, who arrived at WSU from Lakeland High School in Rathdrum, Idaho, less than a two-hour drive away.
“So important,” Ryan said of remaining close to her family.
Recruited by colleges nationwide, then head coach Jen Greeny brought Ryan and her family for a visit.
“We came to games in Pullman, and we loved how close it was.” Ryan said. “It was a cool town and a quick drive away.”
Ryan verbally committed to WSU the summer after her sophomore year at Lakeland. She then proceeded to put together a legendary high school career leading Lakeland to earn its first volleyball state title in school history while earning Idaho Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year.
Upon arriving at WSU, Ryan recalls her first collegiate match at South Carolina and the difference in the speed of the game from high school to college.
“Everything is so fast,” Ryan remembered thinking at the time. “It really helped to watch my teammates and see how they adapted to the game.”
Ryan adapted quickly and the impact she has made on WSU extends far beyond the court.
Ryan entered the 2024 season as one of five returners from the 2023 NCAA Tournament team. A two-time All-Pac-12 selection, Ryan has excelled in the Cougars’ first season in the WCC, starting every match and leading the team in kills, including a career-best 30 kills in the team’s win at Saint Mary’s, Oct. 12.
After the historic 2023 season, one that saw the Cougars reach the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018, Ryan faced a decision.
Less than two weeks after the Cougs lost to Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament, Greeny left to take the head coaching position at West Virginia.
“I already knew we were going to graduate eight,” Ryan said, referring to how many players would be leaving the 2023 team. “Right off the bat, I knew going into it next year was going to be different kind of team.
As teammates entered the transfer portal, Ryan decided to take a wait-and-see approach during the time period from…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Washington State University Athletics…