A standout player on the NCAA Division III level at Elmhurst College in northern Illinois, Katie Rueffer begins her first season at UNC Pembroke in 2016-17 as an assistant coach with the Braves after spending the last two seasons at Waldorf College in Iowa.
As the top assistant coach at Waldorf for the 2014 and 2015 campaigns under head coach Paul Meyer, Rueffer was charged with assisting in all phases of the recruiting process, as well as coordinating the program’s fundraising efforts. She also performed individual skill development workouts and served as the head coach for the junior varsity squad. She was also an instructor in Waldorf’s physical education department.
Rueffer has also served as a clinician for several volleyball camps over the last two seasons, including the All-Access Volleyball Camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. She has also attained positions with the Elmhurst Volleyball Camp, the One Step Closer Volleyball Camp and the Oshkosh Elite All-Skills and Elite Position Camp.
A native of Batavia, Ill., Rueffer played four seasons (2010-13) at Elmhurst College in northern Illinois where she helped lead the Bluejays to a cumulative 125-32 (.796) record, two conference regular season and tournament championships and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a Final Four finish in 2012. A setter by trade, Rueffer played in 147 matches for Elmhurst and tallied a .285 career hitting percentage to go along with 2,061 assists (14.0/match), 372 digs, 178 kills and 126 blocks. The Bluejays were a mainstay in the national rankings during each year of her collegiate career.
Rueffer earned her bachelor’s degree in physical education, health education and coaching from Elmhurst in 2014, and went on to obtain her master’s degree in organizational leadership from Waldorf in January 2016.
