Not all that long ago, if you were a volleyball player incurring the wrath of the Kath, you might leave BHS Gymnasium or any other site embarrassed, bruised, or worse.both.
But now, ready for her senior season this fall at NCAA Division II Humboldt State University, Katherine Rifilato only can still bring the pain - she made 286 kills for the Lumberjacks in two seasons. But now she can also do damage in a role more familiar to Pine River Valley prep fans: detter.
HSU figured that out in 2014 after Rifiliato had recovered from a medically-redshirted '13. She showed why her arrival from Adams State University was expected to be a boon to Humboldt, located in Arcata, Calif. She started all 26 matches in her first season with the 'Jacks, playing in 101 games and in addition to offering extra offensive firepower (168 kills at .193 in 519 attacks). She also led the team in assists with 624 (6.18 per game), or 91 more than-ironically-current position coach Erin Mitchell.
In 2015, Rifilato distributed a second-most 378 (4.40 per game) to complement 118 kills (at .132 in 418 attacks) as she saw action in 21 matches-starting 15-and 86 games. Her 150 digs upped her Humboldt career total to 336, her 22 total blocks to 54, 19 service aces to 36. Unfortunately, the Lumberjacks ended on a five-match slide, finishing just 9-15 overall (7-13 CCAA).
The conference tournament was not a possibility, and Humboldt couldn't build upon a Game 1 win over Cal State-Stanislaus, and ultimately dropped the next three-the last two due to losses of large leads-to bring everything to an abrupt close. Rifilato had smashed a season-high 11 kills against Stanislaus when the teams met previously, albeit nearly two months earlier.
But there on Senior Night, she fortunately wasn't one of the four Humboldt seniors retiring from the court.
