By John Raffel
Plenty was expected of Morley Stanwood senior Kayla Rosman coming into the season, and so far, she’s delivered.
Rosman is among 10 finalists for the 2014 Michigan Miss Volleyball title. She’s a four-year varsity starter who was first-team all-state as a junior and second-team as a sophomore. Morley Stanwood has won three straight conference titles, and Rosman began this season with 126 wins on the varsity. “She’s gone from middle to outside and plays all-around as well,” Morley Stanwood coach Robin Kozuch said. She explained that the move came after Rosman’s sophomore season. “I thought that to get the ball to her, I would put her on the outside. She truly is an outside hitter.”
Rosman said that she likes playing outside hitter and is working on being more aggressive. “I can see the court well,” she said. “I’m a powerful hitter. That’s my strongest aspect of the game.”
Rosman played on the 2011 state championship team and set state records for kills in a finals match and for blocks.
“What an amazing experience for her,” Kozuch said. “She had great leadership to look up to; Alexis Huntey, a senior, was the runner-up for Miss Volleyball. Bailey Cairnduff was our setter and went on to play college basketball. It was a tremendous group of leaders in that senior class. She wanted to be where they were. She worked her butt off.”
Kozuch expects this to be Rosman’s best season. “If you look at it, it might not look that way stat-wise, because we have a crew of tremendously strong hitters,” Kozuch said. “She’s not a selfish player at all. Her goal is to win as a team. She shares stats with Mekayla Carey, who also was on the initial list for Miss Volleyball. She has improved from one year to the next. She doesn’t make many errors.”
When it comes to hitting, Rosman “is not all about power,” Kozuch said. “She hits the ball extremely well. She sees the open spot on the court. When she’s back serving, she works to find that [weak spot] and use that to her advantage. She’s always looking at her opponent.”
Rosman hopes to lead the Mohawks to another league title and a strong postseason performance. “We are very strong,” Rosman said. “I hope we make a good run.”
She clearly enjoys being a leader. “I filled that role last year,” Rosman said. “I honestly felt like a leader my sophomore year when Lexie and the others left for college.”
Rosman looks at the distinction of being a Miss Volleyball finalist as the result of “all the hard work I’ve put into it and all the training I’ve done.”
She has played volleyball since the second grade but has plenty to focus on as she gets ready for the rest of her high school season and her college career.
“I’m working on physical training and being a stronger person,” she said. “In volleyball, you use a lot of different muscle than in other sports.”