Kayla Caffey is putting everything she learned during seven years of college volleyball into practice at the pro level with the Rise.
Story and photo by Mark Newman
When middle blocker Kayla Caffey and Rise head coach Cathy George spoke for the first time, they found much in common.
They were both from the same part of Chicago, had attended the same high school, and shared the same passion for excellence. They were lifelong learners who shared an interest in self-improvement and a desire to teach others.
"We talked and literally hit it off," Caffey remembers. "We could get on the phone and talk for hours. We're from the same side of town, the same high school. We get each other because we both have that South Side passion and fire.
"The same day we talked for the first time, she called me back and said, 'I really liked our conversation. I really like who you are, I like what you're about. Do you want to play for the Rise?' And I was like, 'Yes, I would love to.' Because I felt the same way. It was mutual."
They were introduced by MacKenzi Welsh-Vazquez, who had played collegiately at the University of Michigan and was a teammate of Caffey's in Puerto Rico, where she was playing at the time. Welsh-Vazquez, who would become director of volleyball operations for the Rise, already knew George because she originally had signed to be a setter for the team.
But Caffey started her path to the Rise and Pro Volleyball Federation years earlier, thanks to the guiding hand of her mom, who has been a teacher in the Chicago area for her entire career.
"My mom has played a hugely influential role in my life," Caffey said. "She is a single mother and she's done an amazing job. We're like best friends. But she's also my mother. I really appreciate the balance in our relationship."
It was her mom who pushed her to go to Mother McAuley High School, the all-girls Catholic high school located in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood of Chicago that she and George had attended years apart.
"I loved Mother McAuley," Caffey said. "It's so funny because I did not want to go there originally. I wanted to just go to my local school where all of my friends were going. But my mom forced me to go there and I'm just so grateful that I went there.
"At Mother McAuley, we were just a big family. It was not strict and not catty at all. Everyone was free to be themselves. I wore a messy bun to school every day and just was myself and no one cared."
Caffey admits that, like most teenagers, she probably needed a little discipline, but it mostly was her mother's interest in quality education that drove the decision to switch high schools.
"As an educator, she obviously values education and she always strived for me to get good grades," she said. "My mom instilled in me that education is the only way you're going to do anything in this life. Which is why she sent me to Mother Macaulay, because of the education piece, but she also knew the school had a great volleyball program."
Up until she started playing volleyball at the age of 12, Caffey had been a competitive cheerleader. "I traveled and did all that stuff and was deep into it," she said. "When I was Level 5 and I was still under 12, all my teammates were teenagers. I thought that was going to be my future."
When Caffey gave volleyball a try, she was hooked.
"I came home from my first practice and I was like, 'That was so fun. I love that.' I just fell in love with volleyball instantly. I think it was the team aspect. In cheer, you rehearse and rehearse a routine for literally three minutes on the floor. Volleyball made you feel more part of a team."
While she had raw athletic ability, her skills at that point were less than desired.
"I could jump really high, but it was rough," she said. "I was not good at first. I was bad. I think people were willing to help me and work with me because they saw the potential, which I'm so very grateful for."
Thankfully, Caffey was a quick learner. She helped Mother McAuley win a state championship and became a team captain as a senior. Her first college offer came from Purdue, and she was set to become a Boilermaker when the University of Missouri came into the picture.
"I did not want to go on a visit because I was like, 'What's in Missouri?' I was forced to go on a visit, by my mom again – she always knows what's best. When I got there, I loved it."
Caffey was redshirted as a freshman, then was granted a medical redshirt after missing all of the 2018 season with a leg injury. It gave her time to concentrate on her studies. She had considered studying journalism but changed to nursing, which she eventually found too sterile for her liking.
She gravitated to education, having helped her mom set up her classroom every fall.
"I just think school felt like a safe place for me," she said. "My mom had always been a teacher, but I am so glad that I did not have her as a teacher. Just her helping me with my homework was enough for me to know I never wanted her to be my teacher.
"My hardest subject was math. She's a math teacher, so it was like, 'Why don't you understand?' but with love, of course. I liked English, reading, and writing, which is why I thought I was going to do journalism."
After earning her bachelor's degree from Missouri in elementary education, Caffey still had college eligibility remaining from her redshirt seasons, so she decided to continue her studies at the University of Nebraska, where she learned to take her play to another level to compete in the Big Ten.
"Switching from Missouri to Nebraska – I always say this, and I don't mean it as a knock to Mizzou – was like night and day. It was just completely different. From the state-of-the-art locker room to how we trained to nutrition to psychology, it was firing from all ends."
"It definitely was a ramp-up. As a freshman or sophomore at Missouri, I wouldn't have been ready for that. It was too intense, too much commitment. It was what I thought the Big Ten was like. It was volleyball, volleyball, volleyball. And I was okay with that because when I went to Nebraska I was 22. I was ready to work."
At Nebraska, Caffey credited associate head coach Tyler Hillebrand, who would later become head coach at Long Beach State, with helping develop her game.
"Tyler is different than any other coach I've ever had," Caffey said. "He studied psychology as an undergrad and he took an approach to coaching that I appreciated and valued. He cared about what we had to say as players and wanted feedback.
"He's a phenomenal coach because he knows the game so much. I felt like he taught me so much while I was at Nebraska as far as blocking and hitting. I just was like a sponge. I soaked up so much and learned so much in just one year. And that's why I credit so much to him."
Caffey was recognized as a second-team AVCA All-American as a senior in 2021. She also earned her master's degree in teaching, learning, and teacher's education in December 2021, and worked as a substitute teacher in Lincoln.
"That town loves volleyball, so anytime I would go to any school, the students would be so excited," she recalled. "They all knew who I was and asked for autographs. But I loved going to the schools because I love teaching. I just enjoy seeing kids grow and learn and see when they get that 'aha' moment."
After Nebraska, Caffey still had one more year of college eligibility, due to being granted an additional year because of the pandemic. So she was still searching for something to put the crowning touch to seven years of college. She decided to take her talents to the University of Texas.
"I thought they had a good chance to win a championship so I decided to go to Texas. I knew my worth as a player, and I had been playing at the highest level, so there weren't many schools that I would consider. Texas had done well the previous season, so I decided, 'I'm going to put the icing on the cake.'"
Texas beat Louisville – and Caffey's current Rise teammate, Claire Chaussee – in the 2022 NCAA championship game after finishing the regular season with a 28-1 record.
"Winning a national championship was amazing," she said. "It felt like the culminating moment of my career. It felt like, 'Wow, finally, everything I have worked for has paid off. It's been worth it.' It was the perfect way to end."
Caffey made her pro debut with Criollos de Caguas in Puerto Rico last season. Although she loved the experience, she jumped at the chance to play professionally with the Rise.
"I was really excited," she said. "I think that this has been everything that I hoped for and dreamed of. I knew the people in Michigan loved volleyball and they have shown up for us for every single game. So it's been really, really cool.
"Home-court advantage is so huge, and having all these people rally behind you gives us that extra energy, that 'oomph' to push. I love playing at home and love having that energy behind us. It's all been very positive."