“Monumental” is the word senior Kayla Nwabueze used to describe the historic final season of her high school volleyball career. Since Kayla’s freshman year, she’s been making headlines and breaking records not only in our school but beyond. She ended her farewell season by hitting milestone accomplishments in her high school career, including being named first team all-state four years in a row. Kayla will continue her athletic and academic career at Harvard University.

   Kayla’s love for volleyball began through watching her older sister play. When in middle school, she joined her school’s team and quickly improved her skills. Both she and her coaches realized how advanced Kayla was becoming, and they saw the future that volleyball could hold for her. After playing seasons for both school and club teams, Kayla realized she wanted to continue volleyball after high school and be a collegiate athlete. When asked about her process of committing to college, Kayla expressed the importance of a school’s academics in her decision. As a student at the International Academy, Kayla has proved her ability to balance both rigorous coursework and a demanding athletic schedule using a routine she plans to continue while balancing the student-athlete lifestyle. 

   Since she had such a focus on academics, Kayla was drawn to the Ivy Leagues as prospective schools, and she had narrowed down her top two choices to Harvard and Yale University. But after visiting Harvard’s campus and meeting the team, Kayla said, “I thought the team was very close-knit and it reminded me of my Bloomfield volleyball community… it just really solidified it for me.” 

   So, on August 6, 2024, Kayla announced her verbal commitment to play for Harvard University’s volleyball team starting in the fall of 2026. 

   With the next chapter of her athletic career decided, Kayla walked into her senior season with an intense focus on exceeding all the expectations that had been set for her team throughout the season. This was proven at the district finals game against the Marian Mustangs. 

   “I feel like after we won districts that really set the tone that we were going to go far in the playoffs and make it to states,” Kayla said. She saw that as the moment the team’s collective mindset changed. The varsity volleyball team’s goal at the beginning of the season was just to win districts. Once they did, everyone stopped thinking small. After that game, their only goal was making it to the states for the first time in school history. 

   Kayla led them straight there. 

   As a powerful six-rotation outside, she had the ability to dominate both on and off the net. Kayla’s defensive skills became just as valuable as her offensive abilities while facing difficult teams like Rockford and Mercy. Within the span of a week in October, Kayla surpassed both 1,000 career digs and 2,000 career kills, all while still having a month of the season left. She was also chosen by coaches all over the state and country for many other awards. This included being named both a 2025 Miss Volleyball finalist and first team all-state by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association, as well as being named second team all-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. 

   Although the Bloomfield Hills Varsity Volleyball team lost in the state final game, Kayla Nwabueze left it all on the court during her last high school game and felt nothing but pride in both herself and her teammates. Though she’ll miss having the opportunity to play at Bloomfield and with the girls that she’s been with for years, Kayla couldn’t have imagined a better season to end on. 

   “I would say that we proved a lot of people wrong and we turned a few heads this year,” Kayla said, “I’m glad that we pushed through and stuck together during the hard times, and we stayed believing in each other.”