Katie Valeria is in her second season as a graduate assistant volleyball coach at HCU. In addition to her coaching experience, she has an extensive graphic design and photography background and oversees the Huskies’ social media accounts.
Valeria's first season saw the Huskies capture the Southland Conference regular season title with a 14-4 conference record and their second consecutive 20-win season with a 23-11 overall record.
She was awarded the Annual Bette Stead Ethics Scholarship by the Greater Houston Business Ethics Roundtable in March of 2023, given yearly to graduate students who have demonstrated ethical leadership in their educational pursuits. In 2022, Valeria received the AVCA Coaches4Coaches Scholarship, allowing her the opportunity to experience and network at their first AVCA convention and cover enrollment in the 16-week True North Sports Coach Development Academy course.
In addition to her work with HCU, Valeria has worked indoor and on the sand with Houston area clubs including Houston Skyline, Houston Volleyball Academy and Third Coast Volleyball. She has assisted with summer camps at clubs and institutions around the country, including at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Houston Stellar, Texas Tornadoes, Texas Fury, College Coaches Skills Camps and Showcase Camps.
In 2021, Valeria was a head coach at Mission Volleyball for a Top-13 National girls’ team and also served as head coach at Top Flight Volleyball Club. She worked camps at the University of Wisconsin, Judson University, Top Flight and area high schools.
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A Dodgeville, Wisconsin, native, Valeria was a four-time team captain, who led Judson University to two NCCAA National Championship appearances, both times making the All-Tournament Team as a middle blocker. The Eagles made it all the way to the Final Four twice, finishing as the national runner-up in 2019. Valeria was a five-time CCAC All-Conference selection, including four first team honors, a five-time NCCAA Division I North Central All-Regional First Team selection, three-time AVCA & NAIA Mideast All-Region honorable mention and two-time NCCAA Division I All-American. Valeria finished her career with 1,587 kills, which ranks second all-time in school history, 484 total blocks (3rd all-time), 181 service aces (3rd all-time) and set the school record with 658 consecutive sets played.
In addition to her accolades on the court, she made the CCAC and NCCAA All-Academic/Scholar Athlete Team and was twice nominated for Judson’s Female Athlete of the Year.
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Valeria earned a bachelor of arts in art and graphic design from Judson in 2021 and is working toward a Master of business administration at HCU.
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