Woodford senior Kamya Mahorn has been playing volleyball for seven years, and her longtime dedication is evident. She’s achieved astounding heights during her time on the court, including joining the high school varsity volleyball team when she was merely in eighth grade and ranking as one of the top 10 high school outside hitters in Kentucky in 2024. Additionally, she hit her 1,000th kill last year—an incredible feat for a then junior, as most committed players are only able to reach that goal in their senior year onward. 

What motivates someone to dedicate themself to this spectacular extent? Growing up, Mahorn played softball rather than volleyball. Both of her parents were athletes up into their college years—her mother also pursuing softball and her father choosing basketball—so sports were always cardinal in her household. In sixth grade, her mother implored her to try volleyball on top of her commitment to her existing team, because, as Mahorn put it, she had been “just too good to not play.” Then, in eighth grade, she was forced to choose between the two sports when a student on the high school varsity volleyball team was injured and Mahorn was requested to play instead. The game coincidentally conflicted with a scheduled softball game, so she was given an ultimatum: she could remain engrossed in the familiar, or chase the varsity dream that she’d not experienced prior. The moment she chose volleyball, she never looked back.

For Mahorn, volleyball has provided a constant that she can rely on. “Volleyball is my whole life,” she shared. “ I don’t get any breaks or time off because the seasons are back to back, but it’s truly something that’s a part of me now, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.” As she heads into her final year at WCHS with a full-ride scholarship to a D1 school, Kamya’s future is proving to be as promising as her past.