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Grace Christian Academy’s volleyball player Kate Poitevint was named back-to-back Georgia Independent Athletic Association 2A Player of the Year and Region 3 Player of the Year in October.

After the state championship, she was chosen for the “Player of the Year” award at a coaches’ meeting. To win the award, a coach must nominate a player at the meeting, and another coach must “second” the nomination to make it final. 

It was a surreal moment for Poitevint. 

“After last year getting the first title named 2A Player of the Year,” Kate Poitevint said. “It motivated me more; it ultimately pushed me to be a better version of myself for my teammates.” 

The senior outside hitter led the Lady Cougars (20-7) in offense and defense. She finished first in GIAA-2A in kills and digs with 444 kills, nearly a 50-kill improvement from her junior season. She also had 300 digs and 52 aces during the successful GCA Lady Cougars volleyball season that saw them reach the 2024 GIAA State Volleyball Championship game hosted at The Heritage School, where they faced the No. 1 seeded Heritage Hawks.  

Grace Christian’s two other players, senior setter Sybii Lee and sophomore libero Keagan Belcher, were on the GIAA All-State volleyball team with Poitevint.

“It showed the growth we had over the season. (Keagan) is a libero, and we’d go by ourselves many days to work on passing and different techniques,” Poitevint said. “(Sybii) is my setter. We’re a duo; it’s a shining moment for the whole team. That’s three of our players; it’s great to see them strive and see their hard work being rewarded. I want the best for myself but especially the best for them.”

Grace Christian Cougars Volleyball coach Kelsey Raley has seen the evolution of Poitevint’s game consistently improve into back-to-back Player of the Year awards, having coached her sophomore through her senior year.

“Even in her freshman year, she earned a starting position, And what’s funny is that she picked up the sport decently late for volleyball; most of the people that end up at her level or better are playing college,” Raley stated. “They start even as young as elementary school, and she didn’t start playing until middle school. When she came to Grace, she picked it up and excelled. And, I mean, obviously, yes, like, her height is beneficial. But even her height alone, separated from that, just her will, was very evident, even in middle school, from what I’ve heard from her previous coaches.”

Poitevint reached a decorated 1,000 kills in her career (1,003) during her four-year Varsity career at Grace Christian Academy. The record was in the back of her head; it was never her plan until region play. 

“We didn’t have a region tournament this year,” Poitevint said, “so I had to stay content with where I was, even if I didn’t get to 1,000 kills.” 

But during the Lady Cougars State semifinals sweep against Georgia Christian (25-15, 25-10, 25-8), Poitevint had 30 kills in the three sets, arguably the most outstanding performance of her volleyball career. She would finish the GIAA Class 2A Volleyball Championships with 65 kills in GCA’s State Playoff run. 

“I felt relieved to see all the accomplishments,” Poitevint said. “And all the motivation people have given to me.”

Poitevint’s outside hitter position is still relatively new. Because her body is positioned differently as an outside hitter than her time as a middle blocker, she learned how to pick up, pass, and hit from the outside. Being an outside hitter placed a different responsibility on Poitevint’s shoulders, but she also encouraged the team and helped light a fire under them. 

“I feel like Kate is the kind of teammate that every good team has in the sense that she’s gonna pull the best from each player,” Raley said. “She’s gonna hold them to that standard of like, okay, we’re, you know, we’re this good, so we all need to play at this level.

To have a player like Kate, she wanted to hear constructive criticism even after winning matches. As a whole team, we never wanted to grow complacent,” Raley said. “And then she encouraged Delaney (assistant coach), me, and the rest of her teammates not to grow complacent. They were always striving to be the best that they could be and put in extra work because they wanted to do that and be on that level, too. That was super beneficial within the last few years.” 

Poitevint moved to Grace Christian Academy, entering seventh grade the same year she started playing volleyball seriously. From the start, they made her feel welcome. As a college preparatory school, Grace Christian Academy emphasizes rigorous schoolwork, which helped shape a healthy work-life balance for her as a student-athlete.

Poitevint played club volleyball for three years throughout the calendar year with the very successful Tallahassee Volleyball Academy 17 Smack program as a middle blocker and right side, traveling as far as Nationals in Chicago, Illinois. 

She is not only a spectacular volleyball player but also a multi-sport athlete, succeeding in track and field as an All-Region athlete, becoming a doubles tennis State Champion, and playing Varsity basketball for the first time under her volleyball coach Kelsey Raley. 

“It’s just part of my nature; every sport has a different aspect of learning. In basketball, I’m learning a lot of patience,” Poitevint said. “With tennis, it’s a group effort of helping others not get down on ourselves, but all the different coaching I’ve endured has rubbed off on me as a leader. All the sports I’ve played have helped me become who I am.” 

Poitevint decided not to pursue playing college volleyball and focus on academics as she goes off to college this summer. She felt great where things ended with volleyball. 

“I think I am going to miss volleyball,” she said. “but I might play some club for whichever university I choose.”