Update on My Bridgeland High Volleyball Career

Karrington & Kennedy Kays 2020 cover

Submitted by Kennedy Kays In the 2020 September issue of the Fairfield Community Gazette, freshman Kennedy Kays appeared on the cover, along with her sister Karrington, holding their Varsity District Champions trophy. Going into her final volleyball season for the Bridgeland Bears, we asked Kennedy to update us on her progress and what's next in her amazing life as a volleyball player. She kindly agreed to share her latest experiences and tell us about her plans for the future. Attending Bridgeland High School has been better than having a starring role in a Disney movie. Being the only freshman on the varsity volleyball team wasn't easy but having my sister on the team with me was a huge help. The memories I created with my sister playing next to me will last a lifetime. As a 14-year-old freshman, competing against 18-year-old seniors presented a few challenges. They typically were stronger and had a lot more experience and varsity games overall move along a lot faster. I feel blessed and honored that I've had the good fortune to play alongside so many talented teammates and be mentored by such gifted coaches at BHS. They helped me hone my talent and surpass my expectations. Volleyball is such a team sport that no one can be great without great teammates. I'll finish my career at Bridgeland with a school record for “kills” (an attack is unreturnable by the opposition and is a direct cause of the opponent not returning the ball) and I will be the first player in Bridgeland to surpass 1,000 kills. Our team has made the playoffs every year I've participated. We went to the state semifinals in Dallas last year, finishing third in 6A out of 287 teams state-wide. I plan to be AllDistrict again this year, making me only the second 4-time all-district volleyball player at Bridgeland High School. My sister Karrington was the first 4-time all-district player. Volleyball recruiting for the last two years has been very stressful and challenging for me. Many players now have extra years to play (currently, some can play college ball for six years) and the transfer portal (a database of every player interested in transferring from their current school) has made the recruiting process increasingly difficult for high school seniors. I want to obtain a master’s degree in finance in five years and playing D1 ball for 45-55 hours a week would make that very difficult. So, I have decided to play D2, and not D1, volleyball. I narrowed my choices of the schools I wanted to attend based on the degrees they offered, their location, and the relationship the coaches have with their players. I am happy to say that I am committed to playing volleyball for the University of Texas at Tyler. Coach Mashe is the head coach, and her husband is the assistant coach. I love the head coach and the relationship she has with the players. UT-Tyler has a beautiful campus and the volleyball team finished 17th in the country last year among D2 colleges. I will only be three hours and fifteen minutes from Houston, so I can still see my family regularly and watch my sister play at the University of St. Thomas.