Katie Hill is poised for her 11th year at the helm of Grace College's volleyball program. She has steadily built the Lancers into a national powerhouse, including a pair of national championships.
Hill is a two-time NCCAA National Coach of the Year, winning both awards after guiding Grace to back-to-back NCCAA national titles in 2023 and 2024.
During the 2024 season, Grace enjoyed one of its finest seasons in program history. The team secured its highest NAIA ranking ever (No. 14). They qualified for the NAIA National Championships for the first time in 23 years (2001) and earned a home match in the NAIA tournament for the first time in team history. The Lancers also returned to the NCCAA National Championships, successfully defending its national title from a year ago. Grace beat NCAA Div. II opponent (Jessup) in the finals to win its second straight national championship. Hill repeated as the NCCAA National Coach of the Year.
Grace won 24 matches during the 2023 season. They went on to blitz through the competition at NCCAA Nationals, claiming the 2023 national championship for the program's second title in team history. The team's dominant run included dropping just two sets across the five matches at the national tournament. Hill was named the 2023 NCCAA National Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the season.
Her squads are passionate about growing in their faith and in their volleyball skills, being involved on campus and giving back to the community. She has experienced tremendous success during her career, amassing over 175 wins at the helm of the Lancers.
Hill started her career at Grace on a strong note, guiding the Lancers to 19 wins in her first season and the No. 4 seed in the competitive Crossroads League. She won her first postseason game against rival Bethel to advance to the league tournament semifinals. Over the first five years of her career, Grace has averaged 19 victories per season.
In 2016, the Lancers earned five All-Crossroads League awards and one All-American honor (Caylie Teel).
In 2017, Grace earned a First Team NCCAA All-American honor (Alexa Hill) for the first time since 2013. The Lady Lancers reached their fourth NCCAA National Tournament in the past seven years, winning two matches in the tournament and finishing with a 23-17 record.
In 2018, the Lady Lancers made a return trip to NCCAA Nationals for the fifth time in eight years. As a team Grace finished with 22 wins. Individually, Hill's players racked up an impressive award haul, including Crossroads League Player of the Year, NCCAA Hellings Award, CoSIDA Academic First Team All-America and NAIA All-American.
In 2019, one of Hill's first recruits (Alexa Hill) won her second NCCAA Hellings Award -- the first time an athlete has won the prestigious honor twice in one career. Hill also went on to be named the NCCAA Game Plan 4 Life Award, the highest individual award given by the NCCAA.
In 2021, Gina Novotny graduated as the program's all-time leader in career digs under Coach Katie's leadership.
During a COVID-shortened 2020 season, Grace found continued success at the national level. She guided the Lady Lancers to the national semifinals at NCCAA Nationals. A well-balanced squad, Grace had six players earn postseason All-League recognition.
Her teams have also excelled in the classroom, leading the league in NAIA Scholar-Athletes almost every year. Grace has had 27 Scholar-Athletes in Hill's first five seasons, including seven in 2016 (4th-most in the NAIA).
Hill comes from The University of Virginia-Wise (NCAA Div. II) where she served as the top assistant coach since 2012. She has a wide berth of volleyball experience that spans across the country.
She played collegiate volleyball at Shorter University (Ga.). An accomplished defensive player, she was honored as the Southern States Athletic Conference Libero of the Year in 2010 and was a two-time All-Conference winner. She graduated as the school’s all-time leader in service aces (163) and was a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete with a 3.5 GPA. She also finished school ranked No. 2 in career digs with 1,536 and has the school record for most service aces in a single season with 66.
While at Virginia-Wise, Hill assisted the school’s transition from NAIA to NCAA Div. II. She helped the program overcome a 7-25 record in 2012 to earn its best season in seven years during the 2014 campaign. She was responsible for recruiting, travel coordinating, game tape exchange and practice planning for the Cavaliers. She helped secure one of the best and largest recruiting classes in program history.
In 2011 Hill served on the coaching staff at NCAA Div. III Randolph College (Va.), working extensively with recruiting, travel and practice scheduling. She also has multiple years of experience coaching club volleyball and staffing summer camps, including the Liberty University volleyball camp. She originally hails from Riverside, Calif., where she attended Riverside Christian.
Hill (Van Hofwegen) graduated with a Master's in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University Irvine in 2016. She married Cory in 2023.
