In 1997, current NIU freshman Kate McCullagh first decided to go out for volleyball as a seventh grader at Olson Middle School in Woodstock.

With no volleyball experience, McCullagh made the team.

Once on the team, the 6-foot middle blocker rode the bench for much of the year before approaching her coach on his decision to sit her.

During the conversation, McCullagh’s coach came out and told her there was only one reason she made the team.

“I didn’t play a lot, and when I did, I was constantly getting yelled at,” McCullagh said. “My mom told me to talk to him, and when I talked to him, he flat-out told me the only reason I was on the team was because I was tall.”

While such a comment might cause many seventh graders playing volleyball for the first time to think twice, it only served as motivation for McCullagh.

“That was kind of a harsh thing to say,” McCullagh said. “I went out to prove him wrong and joined club volleyball in eighth grade because I wanted to get better.”

Now after playing at OMS, Woodstock High School and for the Sky High Volleyball Club, McCullagh is a starter on the Division-I NIU volleyball team as a freshman.

“She came in here with great physical ability, and she just needed to get some experience and some confidence in her abilities,” NIU volleyball coach Ray Gooden said. “She’s done a real good job of taking it all in, trying to make the best contribution she can and maximizing her strengths.”

McCullagh chose to try out for volleyball because her aunt played college volleyball and her family often played at gatherings.

“I basically just joined it for fun,” McCullagh. “I didn’t know I would actually take it this far.”

McCullagh, who has started the past six matches, is third on the Huskies in total blocks. She is nearly 40 behind fellow middle blocker Corinne Walsh, who has played 21 more games than McCullagh.

“In the right situation, she could probably become one of the most dominating middles in the conference,” Gooden said. “She has real good potential of dominating players at any position. A lot of it is just experience and understanding.”

Teammate and middle blocker Megan Markowski said the team is not surprised by the way she has played since becoming a starter.

“We knew she was really talented,” Markowski said. “She’ s a good hitter and a good blocker and that’s something we need.”

Playing volleyball in college wasn’t something McCullagh had really thought about until it was brought up by some of her friends who were looking to continue playing.

“When it came down to it, everyone was talking about going to college to play and I was like, ‘Oh, that would be fun,’” McCullagh said. “So I started working harder so I could play. I started getting some letters, and it made me want to play.”

Now on a college team, McCullagh has realized some of her weaknesses from past years.

“I’ve realized now in college that you are going to mess up,” McCullagh said. “I think confidence was always my biggest problem in volleyball. Now I’m on a team that believes in me and I have a coach that believes in me.”

Gooden noticed McCullagh’s struggles with confidence and has seen an improvement during her time at NIU.

“Early on, she was like a typical freshman, where she kind of went along and did things,” Gooden said. “As she started to practice more, she got some confidence and realized that she was capable of doing some pretty good things.”

McCullagh isn’t too sure about her future goals for herself and the team, but one thing she knows is that she plans on proving a few more people wrong when she becomes a firefighter.