Lockport’s Kyla Mitchell hasn’t officially declared a major after verbally committing to Virginia.
But the 6-foot-3 senior middle hitter confirmed that she’s leaning toward kinesiology, with the end goal of being a physical therapist. She’s quite familiar with the profession as a former patient.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Mitchell said. “I’ve learned a little too much.”
That’s an understatement.
In July 2025, Mitchell was diagnosed with a partially torn right patellar tendon and needed surgery. It wiped out her junior year for the Porters after she was a varsity starter as a freshman and a sophomore.
The girls volleyball season opens across the state Monday, however, and Mitchell can’t wait for her senior year to commence.
“It was really hard to sit out and get to watch all my friends get to do what they love,” Mitchell said of her junior year. “But overall, it’s helped me so much as a player.
“I’m so excited to be out there this year. It makes me appreciate the game a lot more. Through all the bad, I think there was a lot of good that came out of it.”
As a sophomore, Mitchell helped Lockport take third place in the state in Class 4A. As a junior, she watched the Porters repeat their third-place finish at state.
Lockport fans could be excused for asking, “What if?” If she were able to play, would that have made a difference? Could it have been a state championship-caliber team?
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Instead, Mitchell was on the sidelines doing everything that she could.
“She was fully committed,” Lockport coach Nick Mraz said of Mitchell. “It’s not easy to go from a two-year starter to be fully invested into a manager’s role. She was helping us every step along the way. She was at every game and every practice.
“I knew she would use that to be hungry to come back this year.”
The nice thing for Mitchell and the Porters is that she played club in the summer for Michio, so there wasn’t too much rust when she returned to Lockport’s camp for the upcoming fall season.
Senior setter Malley Green, who opened her junior year with injury troubles of her own, is glad to see Mitchell back.
“It’s like she hasn’t missed a beat,” Green said of Mitchell. “She is such a strong hitter and blocker.”
Mitchell tried to remain positive throughout her ordeal. The fact that she needed surgery last year was a surprise, even though she had been dealing with the pain during her sophomore season.
She decided to finally look into it after her club season and received the bad news.
“I wasn’t expecting anything to be actually wrong,” Mitchell said. “You always think, ‘There’s nothing wrong. There’s nothing wrong.’ And when there is something wrong, it’s like. ‘Oh.’
“That was hard to hear.”
She was supposed to be out for six months, but when she returned in January, she suffered another three-month setback.
“I came back too soon,” Mitchell said. “That was the most frustrating part of this. I thought I was ready.”
Now, she’s definitely ready. And with 12 seniors on the roster, a state championship remains on Lockport’s mind.
“Having that experience and motivation will get us to where we want to go,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been successful the past two years, but I know that all of us are reaching and working for more this year.
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“I’m excited to see how it plays out.”
Mitchell added that she’s also thankful that Virginia’s coaching staff has been supportive of her. She plans on making the most of being on the volleyball court during the rest of her career.
“You don’t realize how much you love it until you can’t do it,” she said.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.