Bloomfield Hills’ Kayla Nwabueze ‘honored’ after Miss Volleyball nom
Bloomfield Hills’ Kayla Nwabueze shares her thoughts on being named a finalist for the 2025 Miss Volleyball award.
- Kayla Nwabueze led the Bloomfield Black Hawks to three team victories during a quad event on Thursday, Sept. 11
- Nwabueze is No. 1 player in Michigan and committed to Harvard University.
- Behind her leadership, Bloomfield Hills looks to make a deep playoff run after an early exit last season.
In a Michigan high school girls volleyball match that saw two 2025 Miss Volleyball finalists go toe-to-toe, it was Kayla Nwabueze and Bloomfield Hills who took the victory on Thursday, Sept. 11.
In a quad event that also featured Romeo and Bloomfield Hills Marian, Nwabueze led her team to a 2-0 sweep over Gabby DiVita and the Grosse Pointe South Blue Devils. The Blue Devils had beaten the Black Hawks in their previous matchups over the past two seasons, which Nwabueze said helped motivate her teammates.
“I think it’s really helped bring up our team, and we played with a lot of energy that match,” she said. “We played really loose. I feel like that’s helped give us that win. And obviously it’s really nice to be beating all these teams, and I’m really glad that we did beat Grosse Pointe, because I know we haven’t yet, so it’s just another win under our belt that we are really happy for.”
Bloomfield Hills coach Brian Kim pointed to Nwabueze’s leadership, saying, “She comes in and works hard every day and you can tell that the team really follows her lead.”
She is also receptive to coaching, he said: “Between myself and the other coaches, as soon as we have a little bit of feedback, it’s amazing how quickly she makes it a part of her game.”
The No. 1 player in the state led her team to victories over each school in the event, also sweeping Romeo and defeating Bloomfield Hills Marian, 2-1. The Black Hawks are 18-1 and looking to make a deep run into the playoffs this season behind Nwabueze’s leadership.
“Kayla is an incredible player. Like her leadership skills. She’s the best leader I’ve been with on a team,” said Brynn Wilcox, a junior setter. “She knows how to pick each person up. And she’s really confident, which helps bring a lot of confidence to our team. And she also plays with such, like, fun energy, and she’s just a great person to be around.”
Nwabueze’s presence was felt throughout each series. While she hammered the ball onto her opponent’s end of the court with a thunderous echo that rang throughout the gym, she could also score with the gentlest touch, tapping the ball over the net.
In the opening set against Romeo, Bloomfield Hills took the first game easily, but in the second set, the Bulldogs pushed back and found their stride. As Romeo players scored over and blocked Nwabueze, they cheered significantly louder.
Nwabueze didn’t let it get to her; she got her revenge throughout the game.
“A couple years ago, I would get down on myself when I would get blocked or I would get aced on, but I just realized it’s the game of volleyball,” she said. “Everyone gets blocked. Everyone gets killed on. Everyone gets aced, so I really shouldn’t just let it affect me.
“And when they do cheer like that, I give it to them, because they do play hard and it’s good to have their own blocks and stuff like that. So I just don’t really let it get to me.”
As the season ramps up for the Black Hawks, they’re looking to redeem themselves in the postseason. The team was eliminated in the district semifinals last season after making it to the regional semifinals in 2023.
“One of our top goals is to make it to regional finals,” Nwabueze said. “So this year, we’re just doing everything a step at a time and we want to win district finals, and then regional semifinals and regional finals.
Nwabueze said she aims to win Miss Volleyball and become the Michigan and national Gatorade Player of the Year.
After graduation, Nwabueze plans to attend Harvard and major in biology. But her impact at Bloomfield Hills will last.
“Kayla sets the tone for how Bloomfield volleyball is and how we play, and I think she’s done an incredible job her four years, and like leading the team and really growing us into what we can be,” Wilcox said. “… And I think that even hopefully, we can go out on a bang this year, but even with her gone next year, her leadership skills and impact she’s had on this program will be good, because she has led this team and has showed us the way and how to do things.”
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Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @EricGuzman90.
