Shoes squeaking and eyes scanning the court, senior Katie Byergo smashes the volleyball into the court. Byergo earned her 1,000th kill of her high school career on Oct. 6 against Parkway South High School. 

Soon after, Byergo broke the school record of 1,072 kills on Oct. 14 against Ladue High School. Currently, Byergo has over 1,100 kills and hopes to continue adding to her record as the varsity girls’ volleyball team begins playing in district games, contending for the state title.

“I want to make it as far as we can. We have a really hard district, but [if we even] win just two games, that’d be great. I want to keep getting more kills and trying to build on the record,” Byergo said.

Byergo has been playing volleyball for over ten years, joining a club volleyball team in the fifth grade. Starting as a middle blocker, Byergo transitioned to playing on the right side through middle and high school. Byergo has been a member of the girls’ varsity volleyball team for all four years of high school. During the spring, Byergo plays with the High Performance (STL) volleyball club. 

With her club team, Byergo has played in tournaments across the country, including those in Texas and Florida. Playing in these showcases and tournaments has increased Byergo’s visibility for collegiate volleyball. In fact, she recently committed to play on the right side for the Iowa State Cyclones women’s volleyball team. 

“I committed the summer before going into my junior year. It was pretty stressful. I committed after a week of being able to talk to coaches, but I found a good place and everything I was looking for,” Byergo said.

In preparing for her commitment, Byergo followed a rigorous schedule. During her club seasons, Byergo would practice two to three times a week with her team. Currently, Byergo practices with her varsity teammates every day for two and a half hours and participates in games on the off days. Along with that, Byerego works with a personal trainer and works out at the gym before school. With her focus on athletics, Byergo has amassed a total of 364 sets played. In addition, she averages 2.9 kills per game with a kill percentage of .308.

Trying to manage volleyball and school used to be a challenge for Byergo. However, during her senior year, Byergo has figured out how to balance all her responsibilities. 

“I have a [large] workload. This year is not too hard, but during club season, we travel a lot, so [it was] hard to manage talking to teachers and figuring out when I can take a test,” Byergo said. 

Although she has many responsibilities, Byergo has been able to lean on her teammates. Junior Elle Lanferseick recently stepped into the setter position and has assisted Byergo with hitting and defending. 

“[Byergo’s] very supportive with a bad set. She can always hit [and we] can talk about everything,” Lanferseick said. “She’s going to be really good in college and throughout club season.”