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Santa Barbara City College
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Women's Volleyball

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Kat Niksto

Kat Niksto

Coach Niksto took over the Vaqueros Volleyball Program in 2019 from retired Hall of Fame Coach Ed Gover. Since the canceled COVID-19 season in 2020, Niksto has led the Vaqueros to playoff berths every season, advancing to at least the second round in each. In 2021, Niksto led the Vaqueros to one of their best records ever, going 23-5 overall and tying for first in the WSC-North with an 8-2 mark. During her time at SBCC, Niksto has coached many All-Conference selections, including one Libero of the Year selection and two All-SoCal Region selections.

Previously, Niksto spent over 10 years as a Club Coach and Executive for the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club and served as an Assistant Coach for the Laguna Blanca boys' and girls' teams. The Owls' girls' team won a CIF title in 2015. In 2018, she coached UCSB's women's club team to a ninth-place finish at the national level.

A Santa Barbara native, Niksto played volleyball locally at Dos Pueblos High and enjoyed a stellar career as an outside hitter at Pomona-Pitzer, where she was a two-time All-Conference and All-Western Region selection. She was Pomona-Pitzer's Female Athlete of the Year in her senior season.

Niksto earned a double B.A. in Psychology and Art from Pitzer College, then coached NCAA Division 1 volleyball at Temple University as the Graduate Assistant/Director of Operations for three years while getting her Master's of Education in Sports and Recreation Administration.

"I love volleyball and all things sports," Niksto stated. "From the joys of winning to the lessons from losing, you can learn so much about yourself and life through sports. It's all about the journey; creating FAMILY, building RESILIENCE, and producing SUCCESS."

Niksto and her husband, Jake, have two sons, EJ and Quincy.