Already receiving praise for her role on the team before the first matches of the season, Katy Ryan proved her coaches’ expectations correct as she was the best and most consistent player for WSU over the opening weekend in Louisville, Kentucky.
The newly-ranked No. 17 WSU volleyball (2-1, 0-0 Pac-12) team played in a trio of matches against Wright State, No. 4 Louisville and Troy, winning the first and third of the weekend. Despite team-wide struggles against the Cardinals, Ryan was a lone bright spot on an otherwise sputtering offense.
Her production in the three games led to her being named to the 2023 Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team, the other member of WSU to be named.
This production is not out of the blue, as she was the name that first came to mind for associate head coach Burdette Greeny before the season started about a player he is excited to see produce during the 2023 season.
“Katy’s a huge part of our offense and defense. The maturity that she has it’s phenomenal. She’s more mature than most adults that I know that are 50 years old like she is really impressive,” Burdette said before the season’s first game.
In the first game of the year against Wright State, Ryan started strong with 11 kills on 17 attacks with only two errors, her .529 hitting percentage being the second-best mark she achieved over the weekend. She also tallied her first block of the season in the first game to help out defensively.
Against No. 4 Louisville, she fell down to earth a little but still put up 10 kills on 21 attacks with only two attack errors, the .381 hitting percentage being the worst of the weekend but far from a bad line. While not enough to carry the Cougs to victory, her production kept the team in the game for a closer end score line.
Following the loss, she had her most efficient night, having nine kills on 13 attacks, while for the third straight match, having two attack errors. The .538 hitting percentage is Ryan’s best of this young season and the ninth-highest mark of her Coug career. Defensively, she added two blocks, proving it to be her best match on both sides of the ball.
Overall, she had 30 kills on the weekend on a .471 hitting percentage, with 31.5 total points accounted for. While last year started well for Ryan, it scoffs compared to the start of 2023. In the first weekend of action in 2022, she had 22 kills on a .296 hitting percentage while only tallying 26.0 points.
Being named to the Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team is just the start for Ryan, who hopes to jump into one of the best outsides in the Conference as the Cougs look at their best chance of contention in recent memory.
