Webster City native Katie Niggemeyer (17) shows off her hops while powering the ball down for a kill during a match earlier this season. Niggemeyer, a junior, is a starter for the 11th-ranked and unbeaten Wichita State volleyball team. The Shockers will try to finish off the regular season blemish-free this Friday against Missouri State.

WICHITA, Kan. — It started in the eighth grade with an expensive pair of volleyball shoes and a promise to her dad that the purchase would be worth it. Now she can have any pair of shoes she wants. Katie Niggemeyer's athletic journey has been anything but ordinary. She never even considered playing volleyball until she was 14 years old and growing up in small town Webster City, the odds of her landing a spot on one of the nation's premier college teams seemed like the longest of long shots. Well, this long shot came in. Now a fourth-year junior at Wichita State University, Niggemeyer — the daughter of Dave and Debbie Niggemeyer, Webster City — is living the dream. A starter in all but two matches this season, the 2005 WCHS graduate and her Shockers teammates find themselves a perfect 28-0 and ranked No. 11 in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association going into Friday night's regular season finale at Missouri State.