Volleyball Player Of The Year: James Wood’s Katie Houser

Posted: December 12, 2014
By KEVIN TRUDGEON
The Winchester Star

James Wood senior Katie Houser is The Winchester Star’s Volleyball Player of the Year (Photo by Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star)

James Wood senior Katie Houser had plenty to smile about this year, from setting the school record for career and single-match kills, to helping the Colonels reach the state finals for the first time ever, to placing second all time in the VHSL with 571 kills in a single season. (Photo by Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star)
WINCHESTER — For someone as competitive as Katie Houser, last year must have been absolute torture.

Coming off being named the Northwestern District Player of the Year as a sophomore and helping lead the James Wood volleyball team back to the state tournament for the first time in a decade, Houser seemed primed for even bigger things in 2013.

Instead, a stress fracture in her foot sidelined Houser for the entire season, forcing her to watch from the sidelines as the Colonels made a run to the state semifinals.

“It was definitely tough,” Houser said. “I think there was a regional finals game last year and I can remember telling someone that I would have sold everything I owned to play in that game. Having to sit out definitely made me want it that much more.”

For someone rarely in need of extra motivation, the injury provided just that for Houser. And when she was finally cleared to return for her senior season, she made sure to take full advantage of the opportunity.

From surpassing 1,000 kills for her career and placing second all time in the state for kills in a single season (571), to breaking countless school records (single match, single season and career kills) and leading James Wood (26-5) to its first state championship appearance in program history, Houser truly saved her best for last.

For all of those accomplishments and more, Houser is The Winchester Star Volleyball Player of the Year for the second time in three seasons.

“She definitely wanted to be out there [last season] because she’s such a competitor,” said James Wood coach Jill Couturiaux. “But I think her time spent watching her junior year, and even some of her club season, gave her some good insight.

“You learn a lot by watching and seeing what was open for attackers from a spectator’s perspective and I think she gained intelligence and maturity. She’s always been a very smart player, but I think she saw some new things that helped her be even better when she came back.”

The 6-foot outside hitter who will suit up for the University of Notre Dame in the fall didn’t wait long to make up for lost time.

In the Colonels’ season-opening 3-1 win over Kettle Run, Houser totaled a match-high 31 kills in a performance that seemed to announce that she was back and better than ever.

She had 14 of James Wood’s 22 aces in a sweep of Washington (W.Va.), totaled another 31 kills in a three-set win over North Hagerstown (Md.), and had a well-rounded performance of 26 kills, four aces and three blocks in a sweep of Sherando.

“It definitely took a couple weeks [to get back into a rhythm with the team] because I hadn’t played with them in a long time,” Houser said. “The majority of the girls I hadn’t played with sophomore year, so it took a little bit of adjustment just because I was so ready to hit. I wanted to hit in the back, I wanted to hit in the front, I wanted to hit everywhere. So it probably took camp and the first couple games to get comfortable, but once it clicked we were good to go.”

As eager as she was to help contribute to the team’s success with her own play, Houser said she also wanted to make sure she helped elevate the play of everyone around her.

Whether it was working with senior libero Ally Iden on defensive drills and positioning, going through repetition after repetition with setters Ashley and Megan Hillyard to hone their devastating quick attacks to the outside, or simply making herself available for any questions or concerns, Houser took on a more prominent leadership role with the Colonels.

“The last time she was on the court was her sophomore year and as a sophomore it’s hard to be a leader,” Couturiaux said. “Katie as a sophomore didn’t lead vocally, but rather by her athletic performance. But this year she was a vocal leader. The things she put together to say to the team before games were so mature, very well thought out and well said. She was someone the younger girls could look up to and she took pride in that.”

Houser eclipsed the 1,000 career kills mark in a 3-1 win over Millbrook, broke her own single-match record with 36 kills in a come-from-behind win over Jefferson Forest on the road in the 4A North Region semifinals, and signed with Notre Dame on her 18th birthday in a ceremony attended by roughly 100 friends, teammates and family members.

But her favorite moment of the season had nothing to do with an individual effort — although the time that she did a cartwheel over Iden to save a ball was pretty cool — and everything to do with the Colonels achieving their team goal.

“The moment that we qualified for the state finals [by sweeping 4A South region champion Grafton on the road] was probably my favorite,” Houser said. “It was something I expected, but my coach started crying and it was just really great to see how happy everyone was that we had finally done it.”

Despite all of their success the Colonels could not unseat powerhouse Loudoun County — the Raiders were responsible for four of James Wood’s five losses, including a 3-0 sweep in the Group 4A state finals — but Houser said she has nothing but happy memories from her final season playing for the school she loves and with a coach and teammates she’s known for years.

“James Wood will always be my home,” Houser said. “The people around here are a family and I wouldn’t have wanted to play anywhere else.

“So what if we didn’t win a state championship, we had a hell of a ride and we tested Loudoun more than anyone’s ever tested them. This season was everything I wanted it to be and so much more.”

Houser will graduate as the best volleyball player to ever come out of the area and is part of a senior class of seven who helped turn James Wood volleyball into a well-known program throughout the state.

Couturiaux, who is also leaving to spend more time with her family, had a front row seat for what the Colonels accomplished over the last few years, and she watched as Houser went from a hard-hitting freshman to a mature senior leader.

“I’ll never forget the first kill she got her freshman year,” Couturiaux said. “It was against Kettle Run and there were quite a few people at the match, and the very first ball we set went to Katie. And the heat she put on that first ball, I remember jumping up and being so excited, because she just showed who she was going to be for James Wood volleyball with that one swing.

“People who know nothing about volleyball know the name Katie Houser. She’s become kind of the face of James Wood volleyball, whether she wanted to be or not. She’s made a name for herself and she’s left her mark. She’s set records that girls from this point on are going to compare themselves to for a long time.”

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