Katie Lovett was named the 10th head coach of Montana Western volleyball program in December 2018 and will be entering her seventh season at the helm of the Bulldog volleyball program in the fall of 2025. Lovett also serves as the senior woman leader for Bulldog Athletics. In this role, she provides input on department initiatives and advocates for equity and well-being of student-athletes and staff.
In six seasons at the helm, Lovett has guided the Bulldogs to a 79-84 (.484) overall record. She has coached one NAIA Second Team All-American, one All-American honorable mention, one NAIA National Championship all-tournament team selection, four AVCA all-region selections, 17 all-conference selections, 11 CSC Academic All-District selections, 53 academic all-conference selections, and 31 NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes.
In 2024, the Bulldogs continued their climb in the NAIA ranks, finishing as the no. 8 ranked team in the country with an overall record of 25-10 and played in a whopping 21 games against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes. After winning their first ever home playoff matchup against Oregon Tech back on Nov. 23, the No. 16-seeded Bulldog women's volleyball team made history by upsetting top-seeded and previously undefeated No. 1 Northwestern (Iowa) during the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship pool play to advance to the Round of 16.
Numerous Bulldogs received postseason accolades and broke longstanding UMW records, including Jazi Smith who was named NAIA Second Team All-American, AVCA All-Region, and earned a selection to the NAIA National Championship all-tournament team. Six Bulldogs earned their way into the record books following this season. Smith caps off a historic career becoming UMW's career kills leader with a record 1164 total. She also holds the single season kills record with 469 in a single season. Kaylee Fritz broke the career service aces record as she caps her impressive career. She now leads in the record books with 104 service aces. Danyel Martin broke the career blocks record last season for UMW and added 140 blocks this season to her total. She leads the record book now with 419 total. Kelsey Goddard broke both the career digs record and the single season digs record this season as she ends her career at Montana Western. She now leads both with a career total of 2321 and a single season record total of 699 this season. Taylor Petersen broke the single season service aces record during the upset win over No. 1 Northwestern. She holds the top spot with a total of 42 service aces. Peyton Voglbroke the single season block record after she totaled 152 blocks during the 2024 season.
The Bulldogs had an impressive 2023 campaign, posting their highest win percentage since the 1996 season and won their first conference championship since 2002. They also made their first ever appearance in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Tournament and went 1-2 overall after winning their first ever game in the NAIA tournament. Multiple Bulldogs hit career milestones across the season. Peyton Vogl totaled over 500 kills and 200 blocks. She is now the single season block record holder at Montana Western after she totaled 120 blocks this season and the season blocks per set record holder with 1.12 per set. Both KayLee Kopp and Danyel Martin broke the 500-kill threshold. Martin also broke UMW's total career block record and finished the season with 279 total career blocks.
During the 2022 season, the Bulldogs fell to a tough Rocky Mountain team in the conference tournament championship at the end of the season. They also had their highest winning percentage since the 2005, finishing 12-17 overall.
Prior to UMW, Lovett spent six seasons at St. Andrew’s University where she was named Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NAIA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018. Her 2016 women's team and 2018 men's team qualified for the NAIA National tournament.
A native on Concord, N.C. Lovett earned her Bachelor's degree in 2011 from West Virginia in Multidisciplinary Studies with a focus on Sports Communication. In 2015, she earned her Master's degree in Business Administration from St. Andrews University. Lovett resides in Dillon, Mont. with her husband Jackson and three dogs; Petey, Kilo, and Georgia. They enjoy camping, hiking, and enjoying the beautiful Montana landscape.
