2020 Women's Volleyball Roster

Yamlak Tsega / XULA Athletics
Yamlak Tsega / XULA Athletics
Yamlak Tsega / XULA Athletics
Yamlak Tsega / XULA Athletics
Yamlak Tsega / XULA Athletics
Yamlak Tsega / XULA Athletics
Yamlak Tsega / XULA Athletics
Yamlak Tsega / XULA Athletics

16 Kayla Black

  • Position Outside Hitter
  • Height 5-9
  • Class Senior
  • High School St. Pius X
  • Hometown Houston, Texas
  • Major Biology / Pre-Medical

Biography

Honors
•  Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Attacker of the Year in 2018 and 2019
•  First-team All-GCAC in 2017, 2018 and 2019
•  GCAC Tournament MVP in 2018
•  All-GCAC Tournament in 2017 and 2018
•  11-time GCAC Attacker of the Week (four times in 2019, four times in 2018, three times in 2017)
•  All-Louisiana: first team in 2018 and 2019, second team in 2017
•  NAIA All-America honorable mention in 2018 and 2019
•  NAIA All-Southeast Region first team in 2018 and 2019
•  All-tournament at Early Bird Invitational and Big Easy Blastoff in 2019
•  All-tournament at Mid-South Crossover Challenge in 2018

Briefly
•  Fourth year at XULA
•  Three-year starter
•  Enters 2020 season needing 166 kills to break Taylor Reuther's XULA career record of 1,296
•  Begins 2020 season as XULA career leader in kills per set (3.53) and attacks per set (9.30)
•  Other XULA career rankings: No. 2 with 1,131 kills, 119 aces and 2,976 attacks, No. 5 with 879 digs, No. 6 with 2.75 digs per set, No. 7 with a .242 hitting percentage, tied for eighth with 320 sets played, No. 10 with 0.30 blocks per set, tied for 10th with 97 blocks and No. 11 with 98 matches played
•  Helped XULA win GCAC regular-season and tournament championships and qualify for the NAIA National Championship tournament in each of her first three seasons

2019 (Junior)
•  Produced 470 kills to break the XULA season record for the second consecutive year
•  Led team with 29 matches of 10-or-more kills, three matches of 20-or-more kills and 15 kill-dig double-doubles
•  Ranked second on team with 53 aces and 368 digs and tied for fourth with 43 blocks
•  NAIA season rankings: 19th in kills, 34th in aces, 40th in kills per set (3.64)
•  Broke Juliana Tomasoni's XULA record for kills in a match with 27 in a four-set home victory against Point during the Big Easy Blastoff on Aug. 31, 2019 . . . Then tied her record with 27 kills in a five-set loss to Huston-Tillotson during the UST Classic in her hometown (Houston) on Oct. 12, 2019
•  Tied Taylor Reuther's XULA record for aces in a match with nine in a four-set GCAC victory against Talladega at Jacksonville, Fla., on Oct. 5, 2019 . . . Barely missed XULA's first-ever triple-double; she also produced 14 kills and 19 digs
•  Had 29 matches with 10-or-more kills, a XULA season record for the second consecutive year . . . She set the previous mark of 23 matches in 2018
•  Became the second XULA player to reach 1,000 career kills when she closed a three-set GCAC home victory against Tougaloo with a kill (Oct. 19, 2019)
•  Helped Gold Nuggets win a school-record 31 matches (31-9 overall) and become the first XULA team to reach the NAIA National Championship Final Site
•  Helped XULA repeat as GCAC regular-season and tournament champion
•  Helped XULA attain its highest-ever national ranking: among "others receiving votes" (29th place) in the NAIA postseason coaches poll (Dec. 12, 2019)

2018 (Sophomore)
•  Hit .259 in 33 matches (106 sets) with 407 kills (school record), 28 aces, 299 digs and 22 blocks
•  Also set school season records with 3.84 kills per set and 23 matches with 10-or-more kills
•  Produced 18 matches with 10-or-more digs and 16 kill-dig double-doubles
•  Set school record for kills in a three-set match in consecutive contests . . . 20 at Tougaloo in the regular-season finale Nov. 4, then 22 against Edward Waters in the GCAC Tournament semifinals five days later
•  Tied XULA record for kills in a three-set match with 18 in a home victory Sept. 11 against city rival Loyola
•  Hit .400 with 21 kills and 14 digs Aug. 25 in four-set victory against NAIA No. 22 Indiana Wesleyan — the Gold Nuggets' first-ever win against a ranked opponent
•  Ranked 25th in the NAIA with 3.84 kills per set

2017 (Freshman)
•  Hit .238 with 254 kills, 38 aces, 32 blocks, and 212 digs
•  Was second on team in kills and aces
•  Had two double-doubles in season sweep of NCAA Division II Spring Hill, which was 19-0 vs. XULA prior to 2017
•  Helped Gold Nuggets finish 23-3 — Louisiana's highest winning percentage since 1991 and No. 3 in state history — win GCAC regular-season and tournament championships and qualify for NAIA nationals

Club
•  Nine years of club experience, most recently with Willowbrook but also with Waves and Revolution
•  Starter for a Waves team that placed eighth in nationals in 15s

High School
•  Second-team all-state as a senior (2016) and junior
•  Helped St. Pius in 2016 reach the Class 6A quarterfinals of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools playoffs
•  Was her team's MVP in 2016
•  2015 Houston-area award of excellence recipient from the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists
•  Compiled 120 hours of community service, primarily as a volunteer at The Woodlands Children's Museum

Personal
•  Interested in a career in pediatric cardiology
•  Paternal granddaughter of former NFL player and executive James "Shack" Harris, a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the first African-American quarterback to start and win an NFL playoff game (1974: Los Angeles 19, Washington 10)

Favorites
Food:  Shrimp
Candy:  Airheads
Pizza toppings:  Onions
Ice cream flavor:  Banana pudding
Cake:  Strawberry
Flower:  Lily
Color:  Green
Vacation destination:  Paris

XULA
Kayla Black in 2019

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 16

    2017Freshman

    Outside Hitter
    5'9"
    16
  • 16

    2018Sophomore

    Outside Hitter
    5'9"
    16
  • 16

    2019Junior

    Outside Hitter
    5'9"
    16
  • 16

    2020Senior

    Outside Hitter
    5'9"
    16