Pre-PA and bread all day: Katie Scherer beyond the court

With a career best of 17 kills in one match against Southeast Missouri State University and a passion for baking, women’s volleyball’s Katie Scherer cooks on and off the court. 

Originally hailing from Saint Charles, Ill, the third-year outside hitter has averaged a .274 hitting percentage and .65 blocks per set. The team is currently 11-5 with their eyes on a repeat Atlantic 10 championship.

“She’s got a great personality,” said Head Coach Amanada Berkeley. “She’s competitive when she’s on the court, and off the court she’s just a real sweet person who loves to bake.”

Scherer started playing volleyball in fourth grade with her best friend’s mom as her coach. When she started playing more seriously in her freshman year of high school, she wasn’t sure if she was going to be good enough to play at the collegiate level. When she started getting questionnaires in the mail toward the end of that year, she realized she could.

She attended Saint Charles North High School where she received All-Conference, All-Area and All-State honors during her high school career. 

Scherer played her first two years of collegiate volleyball at the University of Maryland before transferring to Loyola in the spring of 2026. This is her first season playing with the Ramblers. The athlete said she wanted to attend a big university coming out of high school but realized she wanted something different as she got older. 

“[Loyola’s] such a good family culture,” Scherer said. “I am closer to home, so I get to see my parents all the time, and my grandparents can come to the games, which is something that is super important to me.” 

Berkley said there was mutual interest from both the coaching staff and Scherer. Prior to her transfer, Scherer emailed the coaching staff once her name was in the portal, and they had already known of her from third-year libero Sam Falk, who played on the same club team as Scherer in high school.

“I remember watching her and thinking ‘Oh, she’s very good,’” Berkeley said. “If she is interested and we are interested, this could be a really good thing.” 

With Scherer’s major in biology and academic focus being pre-physicians assistant, said she wanted to transfer to a school that prioritized academics. Balancing challenging classes and volleyball at the same time, Scherer said Loyola’s been supportive, providing tutors for specific classes that athletes are taking. 

In addition to working as a certified nursing assistant, Scherer also has to take additional credit hours since not all of her credits carried over in her transfer. She said she’s found the class load to be challenging, but worth it. 

Moving from the Big 10 conference into the A10 conference with Loyola, Scherer said the largest difference between programs was the business aspect of it. There’s more money with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) now involved in power conferences.

“Coming here, everyone can just play,” Scherer said. “It’s not the game of comparison that I felt at Maryland.” 

Scherer said she also felt a lack of an interpersonal relationship with her coaches at Maryland — a feeling she no longer has at Loyola. Berkeley said Scherer has had a big presence on the team. She’s a solid athlete who has a lot of ability, Berkely said, but it’s Scherer’s character that stands out to her coach. 

Scherer has a passion for baking — specifically sourdough bread. Using her sourdough starter Thomas Bredison — named after Thomas Edison, because “he’s so smart” — she creates all types of baked goods, even cinnamon rolls.

Berkeley described Scherer as a “business woman,” referring to her breadmaking. 

“I started a little business,” Scherer said. “I have my friends Venmo me five bucks for a loaf.”

Her starter, received from an old roommate in Maryland, was already quite developed, allowing her to get right into bread making. Though she started making bread while at Maryland, she really got into it this summer when she was no longer living in a dorm.  

On the court, Scherer is a player with great ability who brings energy by making offensive and defensive plays. She’s efficient offensively, and Berkley said she’s focused on her blocking skills throughout this season, which has added a lot of defensive value to the team.

Berkley said she hopes to see Scherer continue to shine on the court during her two years left at Loyola, should she take her fifth year. 

“I would like to see her take more of a leadership role because she is very physical as a player,” Berkeley said. “I just want her to continue to be a go-to person for us and expand through the spring and work on being able to play six rotations at some point.”