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WAYNE — Laney Kathol is enjoying her first year in college and enjoying her first year with the Wayne State Wildcat volleyball team as a freshman middle hitter for a team with a reputation and a legacy that is at the top of the charts for NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
The success of her new team parallels the success of her old teams at Cedar Catholic High School and then some according to Kathol.
“There are similarities in work ethic, becoming successful, and the team-first attitude,” Kathol said. “It’s all a lot faster than high school. The learning, the speed of the game, the practices, it’s like warp speed.”
“Laney is exactly the type of athlete we are looking for when we go out recruiting,” her current coach, Scott Kneifl said. “We look for the person first, then the athlete. She was and is all we expected.”
The daughter of Matt and Susan Kathol sees some playing time on the court for a team that is currently at the top of the mountain in the NSIC and in Division II volleyball.
The Wildcats are undefeated in conference play and have already put a stamp on another NSIC regular season title with one game left on the schedule before entering NSIC tournament action beginning on Nov. 14, currently sporting a more than impressive 26-1 record.
Playing time is valuable on a team where two of the people in front of her are returning All-Americans. And valuable for her own growth.
“Laney is a very fast learner, which is what you have to be around here,” Kneifl said. “She’s getting there, she has adapted to the speed very well and is a great teammate.”
One of the returning All-Americans in Kathol’s position and a teammate, Taya Beller from Humphrey/ Lindsay Holy Family agreed with her coach.
“She is great,” Beller said. “All of those girls on the other side of the net make us better and they push us each and every minute of every practice, and they’re a blast to hang out with on our long bus rides, after practice, we just love being together and she’s a part of that.
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