ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT senior Katie Hobler was named a First-Team Women's Volleyball Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Thursday.
 
Hobler is only the third first-team Academic All-American in program history and first since Sarah Szybist earned back-to-back first-team nods in 2014-15. Eight RIT women's volleyball players have now also compiled 12 total Academic All-America awards, while Hobler is the 14th first-team Academic All-American in RIT history across all sports.  
 
Hobler was named a third-team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) last month. The three-time All-American was also named a third-teamer in 2018 before landing honorable-mention recognition in 2019. She was voted the AVCA Region III and Liberty League Player of the Year this past fall, while landing first-team All-Region and All-Liberty League plaudits for the third time.
 
Hobler finished the season ranked 13th nationally with 4.18 kills per set and 19th with 422 total kills while leading the Liberty League with a .306 hitting percentage. She also ranked 10th in the conference with 0.56 blocks per set.
 
Hobler compiled double-digit kill totals in all but three matches this fall, including a season-high 22 versus St. Lawrence in the Liberty League Semifinals (Nov. 5) as well as 21 on a .420 hitting percentage in the Tigers' 3-2 victory opposite St. John Fisher (Oct. 15). She also collected 21 kills to go with 11 digs and four blocks in RIT's 3-2 victory over Clarkson (Sept. 24).
 
Hobler helped RIT (25-5) finish with an unbeaten 7-0 Liberty League for the first time in program history before receiving an at-large bid to the program's 12th NCAA Division III Tournament. Seeded first in the region and awarded one of the tournament's eight NCAA Regional Championship sites, the Tigers defeated Framingham State, 3-0, in the opening round before falling to Wesleyan in the regional semifinals.
 
Off the court, Hobler created, coordinated, and ran a book drive this past summer for kids in the City of Rochester who lost access to reading materials due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Partnering with the Rochester Education Foundation, she and a high school friend collected more than 5,100 books, which were donated to families in need throughout the community.