Katie Nichols is generally considered to be the most versatile all-around player through the first 34 years of the volleyball program. In a brilliant four-year career, the 5-foot-11 inch Mystic native served as a rare multi-talented setter, hitter and blocker. She was a three-time All-East Region and two-time first-team All-New England selection and was named New England Division III Player-of-the-Year as a senior. Through 2007, she remains the only player in program history ranked among the all-time Top Ten in kills, set assists, and blocks. Nichols helped the Warriors qualify for three ECAC (winning one) and one NCAA Division III tournament. While playing the top Division II and III teams in the East in those years, Eastern was 115-46 during Nichols’ career. As a senior co-captain, she was named all-tournament in each of the team’s six tournaments, giving her 13 such selections in her career. During that spectacular senior season, Nichols led the Warriors to a 40-9 record (an .816 winning percentage which ranks second-best in program history) and to the championship match of the ECAC tournament. That year, Eastern was 26-1 in New England, and on the strength of a 22-1 start, was ranked a program-best seventh nationally. Nichols’ 676 kills that year still rate as a season record and her 1,346 attack attempts and her .441 attack percentage still rank second all-time in a season. Nationally, she was third in Division III in 1991 in attack percentage and fourth in kills per game. In her career, Nichols led the team in total attacks three times, in kills, set assists and block assists twice, and in attack percentage once. At graduation, she held career records for kills (1,381), set assists (2,328), block assists (159)and total attacks (3,057), and was second in attack percentage (.366). Today, she remains the program’s all-time leader in kills and is third in attack percentage and attacks, and among the Top Ten in five other  categories. Â
