University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball Lands Florida Standout
4/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss volleyball coach Abbey Sutherland announced Thursday the signing of Katie Steelman of Panama City Beach, Fla., to a national letter of intent and grant-in-aid for the 2011 season.
"Katie possesses solid ball control skills, has a great arm swing, and is a natural leader," Sutherland said. "She will add a lot of depth to the outside hitter position and will positively contribute to the goals of our program."
Steelman, a 5-11 outside hitter, was a four-year letter winner for Coach Karisa Wesley at J. R. Arnold High School. She earned first team all-county for three seasons while leading her team in blocks and attack percentage. Steelman was voted her team's captain for the past three seasons while achieving the Most Outstanding Marlin Award as a junior and senior. She also earned county Co-MVP honors after tallying 302 kills for a 4.3 kill per set average while hitting .486 to go with 223 digs and 71 aces.
Steelman completed her career with 951 kills, 211 aces and 502 digs. She also was a FACA District 2 All-Star recipient. She plays club volleyball for Club Fusion for Coach Steve Canfield.
"Katie works hard to be successful on the court and in the classroom," said Sutherland. "She is extremely coachable and I am confident in her abilities to develop into a solid C-USA player. She is a wonderful addition to the program and I look forward to her arrival this fall."
Steelman, who is fluent in Italian, is the daughter of Scott and Vicki Steelman. She carries a GPA of 4.0 while graduating with excellence in the top 10 percent of her class.
"After visiting Southern Miss, I knew this was where I was supposed to be" Steelman said."I was looking for a great academic school that had an exceptional athletic program and Southern Miss most definitely meets my expectations in both areas. I know that attending Southern Miss is going to be a wonderful opportunity and I am really excited to start my college journey in such a great place."
