Kate Morrell begins fifth season as an assistant coach with the FGCU volleyball program after arriving in Fort Myers in February 2020.
Morrell worked along coach Botsford to produce a 26-7 2023 season that included a 15-1 showing in th conference. The Eagles clinched both the regular season and conference titles while qualifying for NCAA Tournment for a fourth time in program history. The Green & Blue delivered its ninth Power 5 win as they defeated Ole Miss 3-2 on August 26, 2023, The Eagles made its way to the Big Dance after defeating Lipscomb University infront of Alico Arena on Nov. 18, 2023.
FGCU returned to the Big Dance for the second consecutive season in 2022 and for the third time in program history. The Eagles swept the No. 1 overall seed in Liberty during the ASUN Tournament up in Nashville, Tenn. FGCU fell just three points shy of pulling off a reverse sweep in the NCAA First Round against sixth-seeded Iowa State.
The Eagles pieced together a historic season in 2021 which saw FGCU tie the program record for single-season wins (27), capture the ASUN crown and reach the NCAA Tournament Second Round falling to eventual national champion Wisconsin.
In the opening round of the NCAA tourney, Texas Tech opened up with a two set lead, but the Green and Blue stormed back to reverse sweep the Red Raiders for a 3-2 win (14-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-7). The win marked the 27th victory of the season which tied the program record previously set in 2016, 2018 and 2019 seasons. It also marked the second NCAA First Round win for the Eagles following their 3-2 win over No. 13 UCF in Orlando during the 2018 season.
FGCU also posted its best-ever RPI of No. 31 during the year. Over the last five seasons, the Green and Blue has recorded the 12th most wins of any team in the country at 144, which is more than Stanford, Penn State, and Washington, but just behind Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Five Eagles earned ASUN honors in 2021; two first team, two second team and one all-freshman team recipient. To highlight the honors, Botsford took home his third ASUN Coach of the Year Award as outside hitter Erin Shomaker was named the ASUN Volleyball Player of the Year.
Shomaker was also tabbed an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, while Courtney VanLiew was named a Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-American and a NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee.
In the spring of 2021, Morrell helped lead the Eagles to a 14-3 finish, which included a 10-2 record in conference play. With her coaching efforts, FGCU claimed the ASUN South Division title and swept Jacksonville and Kennesaw State in the ASUN Tournament before falling 16-14 in the fifth set to Lipscomb in the championship match. Erin Shomaker was named the ASUN’s player of the year and an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American. Chelsey Lockey was named the league’s top setter while Cortney VanLiew (1st Team), Dana Axner (2nd Team) and Juliana Lentz (All-Freshman Team) each added postseason recognition. On top of that, Axner (3rd Team) became the first Academic All-American in program history.
Morrell joined the Eagles from Mercer University, where she served as an assistant indoor and beach volleyball coach since August 2017. While there, she had head coaching responsibilities for the beach program, while recruiting and training indoor players such as Annie Karle and Brittany Major, who both earned Southern Conference all-freshman team honors in 2018. Both players then landed a spot on the 2019 Southern Conference all-tournament team.
Morrell also served as the Master Coach of Texas One Volleyball in Houston from June 2016 to May 2017 following a successful playing career that saw her play professionally in the Philippines, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Morrell played collegiately as an outside hitter at UAB following a one-year stint at Hutchinson Community College. She was a member of both the indoor and beach programs at UAB, where she was a three-year letter-winner and was named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll while serving as a team captain in 2012-13. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in public relations in May 2013.
UPDATED: 7/22/24
