Home

Steamboat Springs freshman Katie Mills was named to the Rocky Mountain Region's High Performance Team this week. As a member of the team, formed in conjunction with USA Volleyball, Mills will represent the RMR at the Volley Classic Tournament to be held July 21 to 24 in Austin, Texas.

This is Mills' first season of club volleyball. She started out playing with teammates in Steamboat, but after spring sports started, Mills joined a Vail-based team coached by Battle Mountain varsity coach Brian Doyon.

"I love playing volleyball," Mills said. "I hope to get a scholarship to play somewhere."

While recruiters may travel to see high school matches, club volleyball, particularly at the national level, is the best place to be noticed by college coaches. Mills said she is excited about her decision to play volleyball on a year-round basis and is looking forward to seeing how the RMR team, traditionally one of the nation's best, fares in Texas.

Mills was one of 12 players from Colorado and southern Wyoming selected at the May 8 tryout in Denver. She and Vail teammate Crystin Rodrick were selected for the team. Another member of the Vail club team, Nicole Penwill, was named an alternate.

At 6-foot-3, Mills is the tallest player on the RMR High Performance Team. After growing more than 5 inches between eighth grade and now, Mills said she is accustomed to her height -- and its advantages in volleyball.

"I couldn't have picked a better sport to play," she said.

Mills said she has worked extensively with Pio Utu on her agility, strength and speed and understands the importance of each in volleyball. At the Denver tryouts, Mills and the more than 160 other players were put through a series of drills and scrimmages while coaches watched.

Mills learned of her selection via e-mail from head coach Frank Gray on Monday. The team selections were posted Wednesday afternoon.

Mills will practice with her RMR teammates one week before leaving for Austin, where the team will face other regional select teams from throughout the country.

The club season ends when the high school season starts. This fall, Mills will be a sophomore -- and a Sailor -- and will have to face some of her Vail teammates and her current coach on the other side of the net.

-- To reach Melinda Mawdsley call 871-4208

or e-mail mmawdsley@steamboatpilot.com