Katy Peterson is in her second season as the head coach of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux volleyball program. Last season she led the Fighting Sioux to a 15-11 overall record and 6-6 North Central Conference mark (fourth place).
Hired on March 20, 2006, Peterson became the ninth head coach in the program’s 30-year history (1976-2006).
Peterson comes to UND from Minnesota State University-Moorhead, where she served as the top assistant coach for the past three seasons (2003-05) and helped guide the Dragons to a 65-27 (.706) record during that time, including an NCAA postseason berth in 2005. The Dragons were ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 poll in each of the last two seasons.
While at MSU-Moorhead, Peterson helped coach five All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference selections, one NSIC Freshman Player of the Year, one All-North Central Region selection and the program's first-ever AVCA honorable mention All-American. She also served as MSUM interim head coach during the 2003 spring season as well as during the first five weeks of the 2004 regular season.
Peterson's off-court duties included overseeing the recruiting program, strength and conditioning and team travel.
Prior to arriving at MSU-Moorhead, Peterson served as Director of Sports for North Dakota Special Olympics in 2002.
Her coaching experience started in 2001, when she served as an assistant coach at Concordia College in Moorhead. She also has extensive experience working with Midwest Elite summer volleyball camps and the Junior Olympic program.
A four-year starter at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., Peterson was part of three North Central Conference championship and NCAA Division II Regional playoff teams (1997, 1999, 2000) and captained the Vikings to a NCAA Division II runner-up finish as a senior in 2000.
Peterson, who played in 425 games in an Augustana uniform, sits on several of the Vikings all-time career lists, including fourth on the all-time digs list with 1,450; fifth in attack attempts with 3,233; and ninth on the all-time kills list with 1,154. She also finished her collegiate career with 209 total blocks, 115 service aces while also registering an impressive .227 career attack percentage (1,154 kills - 419 attack errors - 3,233 attack attempts).
An All-North Central Region and All-North Central Conference player in 2000, Peterson was also named to the Augustana Dean’s List in each of her four years of school. Upon graduating from Augustana, she was the recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
A native of Moorhead, Minn., Peterson graduated from Moorhead High School in 1997 before moving on to receive her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Augustana in 2001. She received her master’s degree in education leadership from the University of North Dakota in August of 2005. While working towards her master’s degree, Peterson served as a graduate assistant with the Student Organization Center while also serving as the resident director for Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
In addition to her duties as the head volleyball coach for the Fighting Sioux, Peterson also teaches some courses in the Physical Education and Exercise Science (PEXS) department for the university.
Peterson, who resides in Grand Forks, has a twin sister, Kari Peterson, who serves as her assistant coach for the Fighting Sioux volleyball program.
