It is day four of the Senior Spotlight Series this week concluding with Katie "Hulk" Hogan. The 2017 beach volleyball season has finally kicked off today against Webber International and Florida Atlantic. The Panthers will travel to St. Augustine, Florida this weekend, March 4-5 for the UNF Beach Invitational.
 
Growing up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, with a graduating class of less than sixty kids, Hogan ventured to Miami in hopes of getting a feel for the big city lifestyle. She spent two years playing for Miami-Dade College where she earned she earned Second Team All-Conference honors in 2013 and First Team All-Conference honors in 2014 and was selected to the NJCAA All-Tournament Team. Hogan led the Sharks to the Florida Junior College State Championships and the Finals of the National Junior College Championships in 2014.
 
Once Hogan was recruited by FIU, she became unstoppable under the coaching and guidance of Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett. She started in every single match her junior and senior indoor seasons and stepped foot on the sand for the first time in the spring of 2015. What Hogan lacked in experience, she made up for in extreme athleticism and raw skill. She went 6-10 overall and 2-4 for the season playing in the No. 1, 2 and 3 positions.
 
Determined to become a better beach player Hogan spent a good part of the summer training on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. She competed in the National Volleyball League in tournaments around in the country, and was able to travel to Texas, California and Ohio to compete.  
 
Despite the high expectations, Hogan is simply excited to play. She says, "I'm excited to get it kicked off and start going." "Obviously our goal is to make Nationals and exceed those goals. But I just want to have a great senior season, and go out knowing that I gave it my all and knowing that the team gave it their all to attain the goal. And just to see the other girls grow as individuals and women."
 
Hogan's Keys to Success: "Just take it day by day. The main thing in becoming a next level athlete is just the mentality. You have to have a positive mentality and really work to achieve your goals. Just stop and think if something isn't benefiting you and what you're trying to accomplish then why do it? Move with motive."
 
Pre-Match Rituals: Hogan begins mentally preparing herself during the days leading up to a match by envisioning herself playing, practicing deep breathing exercises and by meditation. 
 
Hobbies: During her free time Hogan enjoys lifting weight and cooking at home. Her "specialty dish" is steak with sweet potato mash.
 
Upon graduation, Hogan has the option of getting her master's degree and using her last year of eligibility in beach volleyball. If that doesn't work she plans on playing indoor overseas. Either way she has her sights set on playing in the future. 
 
Hogan will miss her teammates the most. Her favorite memories are "just being around the girls and the team, being goofy and doing dumb stuff to make each other laugh." She loves the atmosphere of being on a close-knit team and always knows that she has her teammates cheering her on.
 
Hogan says, "It's nice to go into 'work' everyday being happy." She encourages her teammates to do the same and "kick butt" this season.
 
First serve for this weekend's UNF Beach Invitational is set for 8:30 a.m.against the South Carolina Gamecocks on March 4.
 
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Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest FIU volleyball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A.Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, theWolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA andhas over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.