Back in the gym: Prior makes return to BYU women’s volleyball
Prior makes return to BYU women's volleyball
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- BYU’s Brooke Hardy takes a swing against Utah Tech in a women’s college volleyball exhibition match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, August 22, 2026. (Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald)
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- BYU’s Kate Prior prepares for a serve against Utah Tech in a women’s college volleyball exhibition match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, August 22, 2026. (Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald)
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- BYU’s Kate Prior (1) and Brooke Hardy rise up for block against Utah Tech in a women’s college volleyball exhibition match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, August 22, 2026. (Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald)
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- BYU’s Kate Prior takes a swing against Utah Tech in a women’s college volleyball exhibition match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, August 22, 2026. (Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald)
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- BYU’s Kate Prior (1) and KJ Burgess put up a block against Utah Tech in a women’s college volleyball exhibition match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, August 22, 2026. (Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald)
Kate Prior was quite sure she was done with volleyball.
The 6-foot-4 opposite hitter from Henderson, Nev., stepped away from the sport after her junior year at BYU in 2025. Now she’s back on the roster and rediscovering her love of the game.
Prior had a pair of kills and a pair of digs in the Cougars’ 3-0 sweep of Utah Tech in an exhibition match on Saturday as first-year head coach Rob Neilson experimented with different lineups.
“I kind of forgot how crazy it gets at the Smith Fieldhouse,” Prior said. “It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but it’s just so fun. It’s just such a blessing to be able to play here. It’s so crazy that I’m back. I really thought I wouldn’t come back, and I’m just so happy I made that decision, even though the decision was kind of very fast and rash.”
Her story is a case of the strange and wonderful ways plans can change.
Prior arrived at BYU in 2022, a talented Under Armour All-American with a big future. She made the All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team her first year in Provo, coming on strong at the end of the season. She put up 190 kills as a sophomore and 100 as a junior, but was in and out out of the lineup.
“I just got to the point in my career where I was really, really unhappy,” she said. “I was overthinking a lot of things and it really took a toll on my performance. I couldn’t get out of the rut I was in. Honestly, I was really miserable, and I felt like I was doing everything I could to get out of it. It ended up just being that I needed to take time away and focus on myself and my family and other things I wanted to pursue in my life.”
Prior said she didn’t touch a volleyball for an entire year and focused on finishing her education. She got a personal training license and started her own training business, working with young athletes in the Utah Valley. She got married (to Tyler Herman) last May.
Turns out she wasn’t as done with volleyball as she thought.
Her mother, Kristi, suggested her daughter put her name in the transfer portal. Prior did so, at the last moment.
The first person to contact Prior was Neilson, who was the head coach at Utah State at the time.
“He was like, ‘Hey, Kate, do you want to come and play for us?'” Prior recalled. “I really didn’t want to move. I just wanted to kind of wait and see what was out there. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to play. Then he gets the BYU job and he’s like, “Kate, we still want you.’
“And I was like, ‘Wait, this might actually be pretty convincing’ because I don’t have to move, I’m comfortable with the girls and the environment and I really love it at BYU. I love the program. So I thought, ‘Let’s do it.'”
Because she had been working as a personal trainer, Prior was in good shape but had a learning curve getting her game back.
“Initially, I felt pretty good,” she said. “I struggled with my arm swing. I felt like I could do everything but hit the ball. That’s been a process all summer, just really working on it. Not touching a volleyball for a whole year actually does a lot to your body and your mind. It’s been hard coming back, but it’s also been rewarding to see myself develop those skills I once had and get better.”
Prior said she is naturally a perfectionist and had to work through a lot of frustration in her return.
“This has really taught me a lot about patience and it’s been really humbling,” she said. “To kind of suck at something you used to be good at, and then push through that and get better, I’ve enjoyed the process. You just have to embrace the suck and get through it.”
Neilson said Prior’s return has been “unbelievable.”
“She is finding more confidence,” he said. “She’s understanding what her strengths are and how to rely on those strengths. With the amount of growth she’s shown, she’s probably our most improved player and she’s still climbing. She has such a high ceiling, from where she was in the spring when she came back until now. She’s just done a phenomenal job.”
Prior said she’s having a great experience in her volleyball rebirth.
“In the past, volleyball was my everything, and it was a little unhealthy,” she admitted. “If volleyball wasn’t going great then I was always miserable. My outlook now is that I have so many other great things going on in my life and volleyball can be a really good part of it. Every day isn’t going to be perfect, but that’s OK, because that’s life. Having balance is just so important to me now.”
BYU defeats Utah Tech in exhibition
The Cougars cruised against the Trailblazers, rolling to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-20) exhibition win in front of 3,152 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Senior Claire Little Chambers led BYU with 10 kills (hitting .409). Senior Sophia Callahan added eight kills and junior Ellie Mortensen had seven. Freshman middle blocker Brooke Hardy had five kills on nine swings with one error (.444) and added five block assists.
Junior setter Alex Bower totaled 17 assists and 10 digs, with newcomer Kaylie Kofe adding 13 assists and six digs.
The Cougars hit .305 and held Utah Tech to .121.
Former Salem Hills standout Tessa Treanor topped the Trailblazers with seven kills.
BYU, which was ranked No. 24 in the preseason AVCA poll, opens the 2026 season on Friday at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational against Florida State.
