2017 Season
Named the Big Sky Conference MVP and first team all-league after starting all 36 matches…appeared in all 146 sets and was on the floor for every point of the entire season…became the first Sacramento State MVP since middle blocker Lindsay Haupt accomplished the feat in 2007…one of just six Sacramento State volleyball players to receive league MVP accolades since the Hornets joined the Big Sky in 1996…a three-time all-conference selection, including back-to-back seasons on the first team, and second team as a sophomore…easily led the nation with 1,611 assists, which were 81 assists better than the next closest player…also ranked 12th in the nation with 52 aces…a two-time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week selection, and was named all-tourney at the Big Sky Tournament and the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic…named Sacramento State Student-Athlete of the Week on Oct. 2…averaged 0.84 kills, 11.03 assists, 2.59 digs, 0.62 blocks, 0.36 aces and 1.54 points per set…hit a team-high .341…posted at least 50 assists on 12 occasions, including a career-high tying 63 in just four sets at St. John’s…ranked third in the Big Sky with 20 double-doubles…posted double figures in digs on 20 occasions, including a career-high 22 in win at UC Davis…ranked second in the Big Sky in both assists and aces per set…the assists per set were the 28th best mark in the nation…nearly had a triple-double in home win over North Dakota with seven kills, a .778 hitting percentage, 57 assists and 14 digs…her 5,497 career assists rank as the second best mark in the history of the Big Sky Conference and third best in Sacramento State history…had 167 career aces, the 11th best mark in Big Sky history and fourth best in school history…507 sets played are the best mark in Big Sky history, and the fifth best mark in school history…finished career with averages of 0.62 kills, 10.84 assists, 0.33 aces, 2.43 digs and 0.45 blocks per set to go along with a .326 hitting percentage…hit at least .335 each of her final three seasons…never missed a match during her entire career, starting all 132 matches and appearing in all 507 sets during that time…the Hornets improved their conference record every season of her career, culminating in a 15-1 league mark and a Big Sky regular season championship…named Big Sky All-Academic for the second straight season.
2016 Season
A first team all-Big Sky Conference selection after starting all 32 matches and playing in all 119 sets…Kurtz was the only Hornet to appear in all 119 sets…became the first Hornet setter to be named first team all-league since Lisa Beauchene in 2003…averaged 11.29 assists per set which not only led the Big Sky, but also ranked 14th in the nation…in addition, her overall total of 1,343 assists ranked as the 11th best mark in the nation…bumped her average of assists per set in conference play to 11.50…also averaged 2.70 digs per set…had 78 kills, and hit .335…posted 40-plus assists each of the last six matches of the season and 19 times overall…also had seven matches with 50 or more assists…quarterbacked one the league’s best offenses as the Hornets averaged a Big Sky-leading 13.80 kills per set…recorded double figures in digs on 17 occasions, and had 17 double-doubles, fifth most in the Big Sky…her 11.29 assists per set average was nearly identical to her mark of 11.39 assists as a sophomore in 2015…the 11.29 and 11.39 assist per set averages are the best by any Hornet setter since the NCAA adopted 25-point sets in 2008…named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week and the Sacramento State Student-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 26…also had 26 aces and 47 blocks, good for averages of 0.22 aces and 0.39 blocks per set…named to the all-tournament team at the Maverick Classic…named Big Sky All-Academic.
2015 Season
A second team all-Big Sky Conference selection after starting all 33 matches and playing all 122 sets…one of just two Hornets to start every match of the season, and one of four Hornets to appear in every set…averaged 11.39 assists, 2.17 digs, 0.41 blocks and 0.38 aces per set…also had 62 kills in 126 attempts, and finished with a .373 hitting percentage, the second best single-season mark in school history among players with at least 100 attempts…that .373 hitting percentage is also the best single-season mark in the Div. I era (1991-pres.)…led the Big Sky in assists per set, and ranked second in aces per set…her assists per set were the 17th best mark in the nation…one of the best servers in the Big Sky, Kurtz had a team-high 46 aces compared to just 36 service errors…was called for just 16 doubles all season…had at least 40 assists on 21 occasions and over 50 assists eight times despite the Hornets playing just two five-set matches all season…nearly had a triple-double against Northern Colorado, finishing with seven kills, 11 digs, 44 assists and a .778 hitting percentage…named all-tournament at the Sacramento State Invitational…quarterbacked the Big Sky’s best offense as the Hornets averaged a league-high 14.08 kills per set, and the team’s overall mark of 1,718 kills were the program’s best mark in eight years…in addition, the Hornets’ .256 hitting percentage was the best mark since the 1995 squad hit .259…had 10 double-doubles.
2014 Season
Started every match of her true freshman season at setter…one of just two players on the roster to start all 31 matches…in 120 sets played, she averaged 0.43 kills, 9.62 assists, 0.36 aces, 2.24 digs and 0.35 blocks per set while hitting .247…her 43 total aces were the most in the Big Sky Conference, and average of 0.36 aces per set was the second best mark…also ranked eighth in the league in assists per set…named the Sacramento State Student-Athlete of the Week on Nov. 17 after averaging 12.56 assists, 3.56 digs and 0.56 blocks per set during the final two matches of the season while going over the 50-assist mark in both contests…in fact, Kurtz continued to improve as the year progressed, finishing with 50-plus assists in three of the team’s final five matches…posted double figures in digs on 12 occasions, and subsequently finished with 12 double-doubles…the 12 double-doubles were a team high…had at least 10 digs in six of the season’s final seven matches…posted two aces or more on 13 occasions…season highs of kills (6 at Charlotte), assists (59 vs. Southern Utah), aces (4 at Montana), digs (19 at Southern Utah), blocks (6 vs. San Jose State) and points (8.5 at Charlotte).
High School
A 2014 graduate of Ironwood Ridge High School in Oro Valley, Ariz…played four years of volleyball and competed in three years of track and field for the Nighthawks…during her three seasons on the varsity team, she led the volleyball squad to three straight Div. II Section V titles (2011-13), back-to-back semifinal appearances at the state championships (2012-13), an 87-39 overall record and 30-2 section mark…as a senior, she was named honorable mention all-state, the Southern Arizona Player of the Year, first team all-section, first team all-Southern Arizona and team MVP after leading the team to a 36-9 overall record, a section championship, a No. 10 ranking in the state of Arizona and a semifinal appearance at the state championships…also named first team all-section and first team all-Southern Arizona as a junior after the team went 29-13 overall and 11-1 in section…played both setter and rightside hitter during her three varsity seasons, and over that span, finished with 417 kills, 313 digs, 76 aces and 57 blocks in 197 sets played…the athletic Kurtz was also a star for the Nighthawks’ track and field squad where she broke school records in the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay…in fact, her 4x400m relay squad won the state championship in 2012 and was the state runner-up in 2013 and 2014.
Personal
Parents are Craig and Noel Kurtz…a communication studies major who is on pace to graduate in the spring of 2018…has athleticism in her bloodlines as her mother, Noel, ran track for the University of Arizona where she held the Arizona pentathlon record from 1990-07…father, Craig, played basketball at East Central University in Ada, Okla…played club for the Zona Volleyball Club of Tucson, Ariz…sister, Macy, is a setter at St. Francis Brooklyn.
