Katie Kabbes Class: Freshman Hometown: Raleigh, N.C. High School: Cardinal Gibbons Height: 6-5 Position: OH

Pronounced: Katie • CAB-es

High School
Four-year volleyball letterwinner at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, N.C. ... two-year captain for the Crusaders ... helped the squad to four consecutive (2004-07) conference championships and three straight (2005-07) NCHSAA 2A State Championships ... ended with a scholastic record of 119-13 and as the school record holder in career kills (1,500), career aces (221) and single-season kills (478) ... her No. 4 jersey has been retired ... hit for a career percentage of .419 (1,500-325-2802) with an average of 3.69 kills per game, also adding in 262 career blocks and 623 career digs ... named the 2007-08 Cardinal Gibbons Co-Female Athlete of the Year ... 2007-08 AVCA High School Senior All-American, Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American and PrepVolleyball.com All-American ... 2008 Volleyball Magazine "Fab 50" selection ... 2006 and 2007 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year ... two-time NCHSAA 2A Championship Most Outstanding Player ... 2006 Mid-State Conference Player of the Year ... two-time Raleigh News & Observer Volleyball Player of the Year ... a finalist for PrepVolleyball.com Junior and Senior National Player of the Year honors ... 2007 Great Eight Tournament Most Valuable Player ... a member of Triangle Volleyball Club out of Raleigh, N.C. ... team was the 2006 Big South Qualifier Champions ... a member of the 2007 Junior Olympic 18 National Division All-Tournament Team ... 2004-08 USAV Carolina Region Champions ... Volleyball Magazine Scholar Athlete of the Month (July 2007) ... member of the National Honor Society.

Personal
Born Kathryn Elise Kabbes on Feb. 2, 1990 in Indianapolis, Ind. ... parents are Dawn and John Kabbes ... has two sisters, Lindsey (24) and Kelly (23) and one brother, Greg (21) ... sister Lindsey played volleyball and basketball at Peace College, sister Kelly played volleyball at George Washington University, father played basketball at Rice University and mother was a cheerleader at Georgia Tech ... plans on majoring in Psychology ... names John Mayer and Corey Smith as favorite musical entertainers, the Carolina Hurricanes as favorite pro sports team, Michael Jordan as favorite athlete, sushi, shrimp and guacamole as favorite foods, "The Notebook" as favorite book, "Grey's Anatomy" and "One Tree Hill" as favorite television shows, "Love & Basketball" and "Knocked Up" as favorite movies, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell as favorite actors, Sarah Jessica Parker as favorite actress and Topsail Island, North Carolina as favorite place to visit.

Why I Chose Penn State
"I chose Penn State because of its academic reputation, the beautiful campus, the great coaching staff, the rich tradition of being a Nittany Lion, and I loved the team."

Quoting Russ Rose
"Katie is a skilled player with good size, whose greatest strength right now is her ability to communicate and be a good team player. As she gets stronger and understands the demands and speed of the college game, things will change. In her first year, I look at Katie as someone who can contribute on either the right or the left side or be put in as a primary passer. It is my plan to give her experience playing this year at both positions and know that she can score from either pin."

Kabbes' Expectations
"To improve as much as possible to be a major contributor to winning another national championship."