ALL-PARISH VOLLEYBALL | Denham Springs High's Beatty repeats as Offensive MVP

“I think it was better this time because whenever I first had this thought in my head as a freshman that I wanted to win this award, I wanted to win it as a senior,” Beatty said. “I won it last year, which was amazing. I was shocked, and then to win it again this year, it just felt so surreal. It was like, ‘OK, I did everything I wanted to do now’. It just kind of felt like the end of a chapter.”

Beatty’s senior season stats pop off the page – 315 kills, 102 digs, 20 aces and 53 blocks with a 0.212 hitting percentage – numbers she said come from striving for one thing for herself -- consistency.

“I made it my goal that every game I wanted to be consistent and stand out to other coaches, especially in district and parish games, because you really remember the person that is consistent,” Beatty said. “If somebody just gets one really good kill, that’s amazing, but if that’s the only kill they get, then it’s not that impressive, so I just wanted to be really consistent, and every time I went in the game, tried to make a difference no matter what the score was.”

Beatty knows the biggest part of her game came from getting kills, especially in key situations.

“That was always my goal was to just get the game moving again if we were in kind of like a dry spell,” she said.

DSHS coach Pam Dubuy said some of Beatty’s kills came about because of her coachability.

“There would be times where I would tell her where the open spot is, and as soon as you tell her where the open spot is, she hits it,” Dubuy said. “She goes there … and she’s like, Wow! That worked.’ And I was like, ‘Well, of course it worked!’” She’s so coachable. She would absorb anything you would work with her on and just take it and run with it.”

Part of the equation for the Lady Jackets this past season was finding the right combination of players to put on the court with a roster featuring six seniors. Beatty said it helped that the group had playing experience together in prior seasons, which created a solid bond.

“We really didn’t have a lineup at first,” Beatty said. “We were still experimenting with it, but we knew where each other played, and it was just a matter of where to to start or when do you go in to have the best flow of the game.”

Dubuy noted Beatty also went from playing exclusively outside her first three seasons to playing a combination of outside and middle this past season.

“I think that helped her a lot,” Dubuy said. “I don’t think she realized how well it helped her at first, but she was doing so well with the blocking in the middle, but she loved hitting on the outside. It was kind of a Catch-22 because you want to make the girls happy in where they play.”

Dubuy also praised Beatty’s positive attitude, especially considering the team’s wealth of seniors.

“Here’s the good thing about our team was we had so many different avenues we could take, so if Kate was off that day with her playing ability, she was still there with her attitude,” Dubuy said. “She just has a positive attitude and (is) always smiling when she’s playing. She shows that she enjoys the game. We’re definitely spoiled with her. Between the attitude and the ability to play the game, it just helps so much.”

“She’s been an asset to have the past four years, and she’s played varsity four years,” Dubuy continued. “That’s a big deal.”

Beatty said that bond also served the team well on other levels this season.

“We just got super close the last four years, and they’re my best friends,” she said. “I feel like it made us a better team as a whole because we were examples to the underclassmen because we were all so close and best friends, and they all looked up to us and they were like, ‘I want to have that one day whenever I’m older.’”

The Lady Jackets advanced to the playoffs, losing to a familiar foe in Central in the first round.

“We haven’t won at all since I’ve been there against Central,” Beatty said. “We’ve won like a game and a set, but we’ve never won three games against them, and I was like, ‘OK. Central. This is our year.’ We came up short, but it’s OK.

“I have no regrets from that game,” she continued. “I wish we would have won, but I left it all out on the court. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Beatty reflected on earning the honor again as well as her time in the DSHS volleyball program.

“I set a goal and I did everything I could to help achieve it,” she said. “I have no regrets over any of it. Looking back on it, it’s just amazing. I’m a whole different person now. I kind of grew up through it all, and it’s made me the person I am today. I made my friends, and I had so many great experiences, and I wouldn’t change any of it.”