Katie Lorenzen was a high school freshman. Writing a paper for an English class, she outlined her goals for the future. That paper proved to be quite prophetic.
“It said I wanted to be a Division I volleyball player,” Lorenzen said.
Lorenzen has been a Division I volleyball player for more than two years now. Just recently, though, she became a Division I starter for the first time. With the Wisconsin offense sputtering early in the Big Ten season, head coach Pete Waite turned to his sophomore setter for a spark. Trailing Northwestern 10-5 in game one last Wednesday, Lorenzen entered the UW lineup and engineered a comeback that resulted in a 30-28 Badger victory.
“I was pretty nervous, but my mindset was just to get in there and win,” Lorenzen said. “That’s all I wanted to do. I was definitely nervous, but instinct just took over and you just play to win — do what it takes to win.”
Seeing her first match action of the season, Lorenzen recorded 37 assists, four kills, seven defensive digs and two blocks. Wisconsin won the match in a 3-0 sweep: 30-28, 30-20 and 30-16.
“She really stabilized things,” Waite said. “To start the game, our passers were struggling; they weren’t doing a good job giving the ball to Jackie (Simpson), and it was tough for her to get the ball to the hitters. We were just trying to get a new rhythm and a new attitude going out there. It almost seemed the instant she got out there, things started to smooth out a little bit.”
Her performance earned her the starting nod over Jackie Simpson for UW’s home match with Illinois, the first start of Lorenzen’s collegiate career.
“It was pretty awesome being at the Field House,” Lorenzen said. “I always knew it would be a great feeling because of all the fans that we have and all the noise here. It was pretty neat to hear your name called and run through the line and slap everyone’s hand.”
The red-shirt sophomore from Pagosa Springs, Colo., did not disappoint, tallying a career-high 61 assists in the 3-1 win. She also contributed nine digs, also a career best, and four blocks.
“It’s very rewarding to have worked really hard and to get a chance to get in there and just have fun with the team,” Lorenzen said.
Earning the starting setter position has been the culmination of two years of work for Lorenzen. Coming from a small town in Colorado, Lorenzen red-shirted the 2002 season to adjust to the collegiate game. Last season she served as the understudy to All-American setter Morgan Shields.
“The past two years were just all learning experience,” Lorenzen said. “Learning what it takes to run an offense at the collegiate level, especially just working on getting it to the middles all the time, being consistent and being someone that the team looks up to as an emotional leader and stable person.”
Most of Lorenzen’s 2003 season was spent watching from the sideline, as she appeared in just three matches. Her most significant court time came against Western Carolina when she recorded a then-career best 11 assists.
“Katie’s a really hard worker, and she’ll give you everything she’s got all the time,” Waite said. “She had just come from a very small town and a small, lower-level club program, so it was a huge step up for her. It was pretty overwhelming for her to get used to the speed of the game and some of the concepts we were trying to teach.”
Shields’ graduation at the end of the 2003 campaign left vacant Wisconsin’s starting setter position and opened the door for Lorenzen and freshman Jackie Simpson. Out of Downers Grove, Ill., Simpson had graduated from high school a semester early in order to get a head start on her UW career. As the two battled for control of the Badger offense, Lorenzen took on two roles: competitor and mentor to the newcomer Simpson. As much as Lorenzen wanted the starting role, she also wanted to show her new teammate the ins and outs of NCAA volleyball.
“Sometimes you just have to step out of what you want for yourself and do what’s best for the team,” Lorenzen said. “I wanted to play of course, and I could have just been like, ‘You figure it out,’ but for the best of the team I wanted her to come in and feel comfortable and learn everything right away — because she was coming in all by herself.”
While Simpson eventually emerged as the starter, the competition between the two proved beneficial for both parties.
“It was good because it made me push myself all the time,” Lorenzen said. “There was never any letting up because there was still a fight for that position and not knowing whose it was going to be.”
For Lorenzen, the two-plus year waiting game has finally come to an end. She is averaging 14 assists per game as a starter, and Wisconsin is hitting .320 as a team with her at setter. Hard work and patience has indeed paid off.
“She’s been working hard for the past couple years, learning totally new techniques and getting over a few injuries,” Waite said. “Over the course of the first month of the season, we’ve seen her progressing, and her set location has really been coming around. It just became very noticeable in practices when her hitters were doing really well off her and her teams were winning. I felt fine getting her in there when we needed her.”
