Lovett's Kari Knotts thriving in sport which helped her find comfort 'in own skin'

Lovett's Kari Knotts, among nation's top high school volleyball players

"Keep you're eye out for Kari Knotts,". Those were the words of Pope Greyhound volleyball head coach, Erika Miller in the summer of 2025 and fast forward to present day, and two-time Georgia High School Association state championship coach, "told no lies" as they say, of the Lovett Lions sophomore, outside hitter.

In a Lovett 3-1 win over Westminster, Knotts, who has surpassed 1,000 career kills this season, finished with 24 kills, a .500 hit percentage and 10 digs and to date has 439 kills on the season with a .413 hit percentage, 181 digs and 25 aces with a 92.3 serve percentage.

In her freshman season, Knotts helped lead the Lions to the 2025-26 GHSA Private state championship state championship, their first since 2012, was named American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year and Gatorade Georgia Volleyball Player of the Year.

Over this past summer, Knotts was a member of the Team USA FIVB U17 World Championship winning team, earning MVP honors and with two matches remaining in Lovett's regular season, Knotts is enjoying "being in season" with her teammates" as her volleyball journey continues. A journey, which she began fully embracing around 11-years old.

"My parents put me in different sports when I was little, but I really fell in love with volleyball," Knotts said of the sport, as she explained "being taller than most girls" when she was younger, "allowed me to be comfortable in my skin," Knotts, who stands at six feet, four inches said.

"Around 11 or 12-years old, I really wanted to start competing. It was just so much fun competing and playing with my teammates and that's when I knew I really wanted to start taking it serious," Knotts said, showing gratitude for her support system. "It's an honor and blessing that I've gotten these accomplishments, but I couldn't have done it without the support system around me," Knotts said.

Now, with two regular season matches remaining, Knotts and her teammates will continue to lean on their support system as they look to successfully defend their state title, something the Lovett sophomore says, the Lions must "take every practice, every game seriously, staying in the present and working hard as a team, just stay assertive when we're playing aggressive," are among the things they will need to focus on in order to achieve their goal.

"If we can do those things great, I believe that we will be able to come out with another state championship," Knotts said, adding she understands leadership development will be important for her along the way. "It's really important for me to be a leader and help the other girls," Knotts, who also has excelled in the classroom, maintaining an A average, said. "I'm trying to work on that as the season goes on," she added.

"It's been a really, really fun experience," Lovett head coach, Cheryl Weaver said of her time coaching Knotts the last two seasons. "And one thing I can say about Kari, other than her athleticism and her court presence, she's a really humble, great kid," Weaver said of Knotts.

"Off the court, she's funny, she's humble, she understands that she has that she has gifts and she never takes any of it for granted," Weaver said. "On the court, she really is kind of a one in a generational player. You come across tall, athletic players all the time, but she has a very, very good sense of the game and a very high court IQ to be so young," Weaver said.