CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Graduate senior Kayla Burbage is back for one last ride with Illini volleyball.

Burbage participated in 30 matches during her sophomore year and another 30 as a junior. However, despite ranking third on her team for kills in 2023, she had to sit out her senior season in 2024 due to shoulder surgery.

Now, the Clayton, N.C. native is back and ready to return to action.

Burbage will play her final year of college as a middle blocker, a move from opposite/outside hitter in previous seasons.

“She rejoined practice and, to cut a long story short, began excelling in the middle,” Illinois head coach Chris Tamas remarked at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago on Monday. “She looked over and said, ‘Yeah, I enjoy this very much.'”

“The transition has been wonderful,” Burbage noted, drawing on her prior experience in the middle from her high school club days. “I love it… It just feels instinctive to be back there… Everything flows smoothly, and I’m definitely ready to start the season.”

Interestingly enough, volleyball wasn’t always the favorite sport of the impactful Illini veteran.

“I played nearly every sport imaginable except volleyball until high school,” she shared. “Being from North Carolina, I grew tired of wearing hot softball pants in 90-degree weather. So, I switched to volleyball and instantly fell in love with it. My family is passionate about it, and my sister plays now… It’s the quintessential team sport, and it’s incredibly fun to work together towards a common goal. That aspect of volleyball was what really drew me in.”

Illinois was picked to finish ninth in the Big Ten on the conference’s preseason poll.