The smile and energy of Katie O’Connell Lacey are contagious. Underneath the glow of the smile is a competitive athlete with nerves of steel and energy to burn.
Katie was a key member of a couple of spectacular NHTI women’s volleyball teams that earned trips to Indiana for the USCAA national championships. There is no easy way to get to Fort Wayne Indiana. Every National travel experience seemed like a scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
The team always kept moving forward due to the attitude of the coaching staff and the players led by Katie. Our volleyball team captured back to back YSCC championships and had strong finishes at numerous highly competitive in-season tournaments at Holyoke CC and CCRI.
Her experience at NHTI was a very fulfilling one. She has great admiration for her two coaches at NHTI, Malee Irving and Renee Zobel and continues to stay in touch with Renee who now coaches at her alma mater Coe Brown Academy.
It's rather ironic that Coach Zobel could not be attend tonight’s ceremony because she is coaching volleyball at Coe Brown Academy, Katie’s old high school where she fell in love with the sport of volleyball.
While Katie had performed multiple roles at her high school, she settled in as our primary outside hitter proving to be a major force and impactful player in the YSCC. She consistently topped many of the statistical leader boards and ranked high in the USCAA statistics as well.
While her competitiveness was the first thing you observed, it wasn't what really made a special player. The thing that made her stand out was the impact she had on her teammates helping them feel good and play better. Her easy going and positive personality made her a natural leader.
She celebrated her teammates successes far more enthusiastically than her own. She knew how to both embrace team and fight like crazy to be a better version of herself, even when she couldn't see well for half a season while always promising she was getting new contacts soon.
Katie was a major contributor helping our teams earn bids to nationals in Indiana on consecutive years. Katie also proved to be the peacekeeper helping to mediate the nightly dinner location battles in Fort Wayne.
NHTI volleyball had a daunting task at the National tournament against tall athletic teams. Katie earned USCAA All-American honors at time when it was very, very hard to earn any recognition for the lowest seeded team in the tournament.
Katie now lives in Keene, NH where she lives with her husband Nat and their lovely girls Ava 8 and Elise 2. She is coaching youth softball and has plans to start a youth volleyball program for the Keene area.
On behalf of NHTI Athletics, let’s welcome Katie O’Connell Lacey on stage for her induction to the NHTI Athletic Hall of Fame.
