It did not take long at all for Katie (Werner) Loveless to hint at the stardom she was about to fully realize. In just the 11th match of her Concordia Volleyball career, Loveless racked up a school record 17 blocks as the Bulldogs outlasted Dana in a 2004 five-set tussle with GPAC rival Dana. That was just the start for the 6-foot-2 native of Syracuse, Neb., who was on her way to becoming the volleyball program’s all-time blocks leader and an All-American thrower.
Considering her dominance in not one, but two sports, the addition of Loveless’ name to the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame was simply a matter of time. Loveless received an education on how to manage it while juggling her studies as a Business Administration major (minor in Communications) along with volleyball, track and a job in Concordia’s PE Center weight room.
“I’m just really appreciative of having been able to do all the things,” Loveless said in an August 2024 interview. “Not a lot of schools allow that. I was able to be a multi-sport athlete and still keep up with the workload. It taught me a lot of time management as part of the process and that carried on.”
The former Syracuse High School all-stater arrived at Concordia expecting to compete exclusively in volleyball. By the time she graduated in 2008, Loveless had made her mark as one of the best to ever do it for both the volleyball and throws programs. She earned GPAC all-conference honors in volleyball all four years (three first team mentions) and was a three-time throws All-American and GPAC shot put champion. Meanwhile, she achieved NAIA Scholar-Athlete status for her work academically and was voted the 2007-08 Concordia Senior Female Athlete of the Year.
Loveless was recruited to play volleyball by then Head Coach Randy Krieger (head coach for the 2003 and 2004 seasons). Rachel Miller then took over the reins of the volleyball program beginning in 2005 while the track & field teams were guided by Kregg Einspahr. It was clear early on that Loveless brought an exceptional skill level to both of her respective teams. Miller and throws coach Ed McLaughlin helped refine Loveless’ technique and maximize those abilities.
As an official Concordia release in 2008 stated, “Katie was one of the most dominant middle blockers in the GPAC even though most teams prepared specifically to counter her.” In addition to the aforementioned record-breaking 17-block outing, Loveless’ finest moments included a 21-kill, 10-block performance in a 2006 win over No. 12 Doane and a 16-kill, three-block effort in a 2007 home upset of ninth-ranked Doane. Every opponent knew about Loveless, who wore the No. 3 while owning the net. As a sophomore, she helped the Bulldogs start the season with an impeccable 18-0 record.
As a senior in 2007, Loveless led all GPAC players with an average of 1.81 blocks per set. She also hit .341 (third best in the league) that season and finished her career with lofty totals of 1,600 kills and 787 blocks. She posted numbers that were undoubtedly All-America worthy.
Says Loveless, who remembered a raucous PE Center Gym crowd for that win over top 10 Hastings, “Everybody goes into it hoping they get to play varsity right away. That was my goal. I wanted to be able to play right away and make an impact for the team. Coach Miller was an assistant when I was a freshman and then took over as head coach. She was able to help out a lot with my skills and refining them.”
Loveless already knew plenty about Concordia when she made it her college choice. Two older brothers had played basketball under Coach Grant Schmidt. Counting her years as a supporter and volleyball player, Loveless spent countless hours inside the PE Center Gym.
“Once I got a little bit older, and I was starting to get recruited for volleyball and basketball, I would come to my brothers’ basketball games and the volleyball girls would grab me and invite me to go sit with them,” Loveless said. “That was really cool. I looked at a few different places, but I was very comfortable at Concordia. They were very welcoming. I was recruited for basketball and volleyball but the basketball coach at the time wasn’t keen on me trying to do both. I decided to go ahead and just play volleyball and focus on that. That’s how I was recruited.”
Basketball and volleyball were the main sports on Loveless’ radar as she went through the recruiting process. She had not even competed in track & field her senior year of high school after using her talents in the hurdles, throws and as part of the 4x100-meter relay the previous three years. Loveless decided to try out for the track team at Concordia after being convinced to do so by friends.
“I wasn’t considering it as an option,” Loveless said. “One of my fellow volleyball teammates did track and volleyball. She was telling me how much fun they had at the throwers practice and how the coach was really nice. I decided I’d just go and hang out. I went to their practice in the annex. They were kind of like, you’re here, you might as well try it. I threw once – and it was kind of a big deal to be able to hit the ceiling of the annex. I hit the ceiling and Ed was like okay, ‘When would you like to start on the track team?’ That was not the intention going into it, but I ended up finding a good fit.”
With McLaughlin’s teaching, Loveless blossomed as a thrower. She claimed two All-America awards in the shot put and another in the weight throw. She also won the 2007 GPAC outdoor shot put title and broke the school record in the indoor shot put with a toss of 46’ 2.” Those achievements were remarkable, especially for someone who thought she had retired from the sport.
Said McLaughlin, “The day she broke the indoor shot put record she was very surprised. I’m not sure she thought she could throw that far. She was a true team competitor. When the team needed points, she was going to get them. It always helped when we were at GPAC or nationals because she knew we were scoring those meets. She even took on throwing the discus as a senior to help us try to score more at the GPAC. I was very blessed to get to work with Katie.”
Similarly, Katie feels blessed for all that she experienced at Concordia. Some of her fondest memories surround the trips that were taken to Chicago, New York state and Oregon. Never mind the time that brown water was observed coming from the faucets of a team hotel. It was all part of a journey that will lead Loveless into the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame.
Said Loveless of finding out about her selection to the Hall of Fame, “I was surprised. I opened up the envelope and was not expecting that to be inside. It was kind of funny because my parents were actually here at my house in Columbus for the weekend. That was pretty cool that they got to be there at that time because they have been such big supporters. They came to all the games. They came to New York and Chicago. They traveled all over trying to get to every game that they could. It was cool when they were there when I got the letter in the mail. I was really surprised and really honored.”
For Loveless, her recognition is an opportunity to reconnect with people and with the memories as a Concordia Bulldog she cherishes. Added Loveless, “I may not talk to a lot of them every day, but I still consider the volleyball and track teammates I had to be very important people in my life. They helped shape who I am.”