Newberg, Riverside gets ready for volleyball first

This isn’t an average week for Kayla Newberg and the Riverside Rams.

For the Riverside senior, today marks the day she will sign her NCAA letter of intent to play volleyball next year for the University of Rhode Island Rams. For her and the Riverside Rams, Friday they are set to appear in the first state volleyball tournament in school history.

Newberg is the leader of a Riverside lineup that finished third in the Great Northern League standings and finished second in last weekend’s district tournament to earn the trip to Yakima. The Rams also captured 12th place, their highest finish, at this year’s Crossover Classic.

Coach Debbie Spray and her team are looking forward to the trip.

“The girls are giddy,” Spray said. “We are all really looking forward to it.”

For Newberg, who led her team with 40 kills in a five-game match against Colville to earn the state berth, the feat is still a little bit of a shock.

“It’s still just the awe factor,” Newberg said. “Being a senior and having it be the first year ever making it to state is pretty unbelievable.”

The 6-foot-2 middle hitter has been an asset to her team in many ways. Her hitting stats speak for themselves as she averages around 20 kills a game. But Newberg has turned herself into an all-around valuable player, usually leading her team in kills and often in digs.

“The part about Kayla that I find most impressive is, yeah, she can hit hard and block really well, but her defense is equally brilliant,” Spray said. “She’s a very smart defensive player. She reads hitters and is in the right place at the right time. She usually leads or is second-highest in digs for stats.”

To become the player she has, Newberg has put in her time outside of school. She has played club for three years, most recently under Wade Benson with the Spokane Splash, and goes to various camps during her summer vacation.

“Kayla works really hard,” Spray said. “She listens intensely, and is always trying to improve. She’s always wanting to do better, always looking for that extra edge.”

Part of her intense listening skills started when she was a sophomore, and Riverside standout athlete Angela Hartill took Kayla under her wing. Spray said the girls were always together, whether it was outside practice or on the court. Now Newberg has continued the legacy with junior Megan Sanders.

“I strongly feel that Angela’s influence had an impact on Kayla and now she wanted to do that for someone else,” Spray said. “It’s very cool and I didn’t set it up, so that’s impressive. It’s big sister, little sister stuff, and it’s been cool to watch because now Kayla has taken (Megan) under her wing.”

As Newberg prepares to end her career as a Riverside Ram and begin one as a Rhode Island Ram, the thing she will miss is her friends.

“I will definitely miss the girls,” Newberg said. “Everyone was so fun to play with and we always had a great time together.”