Byron Center All-Stater Johnson Set to Represent US at Pan American Cup
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
August 26, 2026
BYRON CENTER – Byron Center volleyball coach Missy Ritz-Johnson had known for a while that her daughter, Mallory Johnson, possessed all of the attributes and intangibles to become a top-notch libero.
It became obvious at a young age.
“I would say when she was young that she often knew where the hitters were going to hit the ball better than, sometimes, they did,” Ritz-Johnson said. “She has had an ability to read hitters and anticipate what they are going to do, which makes her a really good defender. A lot of natural ability to read and understand the game, and she’s been thriving at that position.
“She’s really athletic and really competitive, and that's a good combination to have at that position.
Johnson, a 5-foot-6 senior, has blossomed into one of the top liberos in the country and was recently named to the U23 USA Volleyball Pan American Cup roster.
She traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., earlier this week to train with the team at the United States Olympic Training Center before leaving for Managua, Nicaragua, to compete September 1-6.
“It’s a great opportunity, and every time I step in this gym at this training center (in Colorado) it’s crazy to think that I'm even here,” Johnson said. “But the girls are amazing. They are great people, great athletes and great competitors. It's really fun, and I learn every time I come here and grow as an athlete and as a person.”
Johnson made the team after spending a week at the training center in mid-July.
“Obviously I was so grateful to be selected to try out, and when I made the team I was speechless and overwhelmed with joy,” Johnson said. “I called my mom right away and tried to gauge what was even going on. I really didn’t know what to expect going into it, but it was super competitive.”
After leading the state-ranked Bulldogs to an 8-0 start with four wins at both the Cornerstone Showcase and Traverse City West Invitational, Johnson will take a brief hiatus from her high school team and return on Sept. 7.
“I have talked a lot with my teammates about my absence, and they are all cool with it and doing great,” Johnson said. “I talk to them almost every day and ask them how practice went. They are all set and more than capable of handling business without me. For me, I think competing in these games will only make me grow and get out of my comfort zone. Hopefully I’ll bring my talents back to high school and see what we can do this year.”
Johnson, who first started playing club volleyball when she was 8, is one of nine returners for a talented Bulldogs’ squad that lost a thrilling match (3-2) during last season’s Division 1 Semifinals to eventual champion Farmington Hills Mercy.
That heartbreaking defeat has provided motivation for this year’s group.
“That loss hurt,” said Johnson, who made the Division 1 all-state team last fall as an outside hitter. “I know, personally, I have changed so much from that loss, and I’ve learned so much. I know that it sucked for the other eight returners, too. There’s been a mood switch with this team, and I know we all want it really bad this year.”
Johnson's personality and leadership fit well for her libero position, and she has embraced it fully.
“I’ve known nothing else, and I find myself just loving my position as a libero,” she said. “I love being in charge of the backcourt, getting to celebrate with my teammates and putting them in good positions to make plays.”
Ritz-Johnson said her daughter has been involved with the Olympic Developmental Program since she was in seventh grade and has worked hard to achieve her goals.
“She’s worked really hard to earn these opportunities,” Ritz-Johnson said. “She has a love for the game and has never complained about going to practice. She loves to practice and compete, and her favorite sport is one she is best at, which is not always the case.”
Last June, Johnson committed to a collegiate powerhouse, the University of Nebraska, after receiving interest from about 30 programs.
“It was pretty surreal, and I just remember watching them on TV when I was in sixth grade, and obviously Nebraska is a very big deal,” Johnson said. “I watched them and was thinking, ’Holy cow, I want to go here. I want to play at this level, and I want to be involved in this atmosphere.’”
“I’ve been to camps there since seventh grade and been out to campus every year since then. Every time I went there I loved it, and it felt like home. I knew I wanted to be there, and it wasn't a super-hard decision for me.”
Ritz-Johnson is excited for her daughter to play at such a high-profile program.
“There’s no place like Nebraska, as they say,” she said. “They’ve had attendance records and sell out when they travel and just the way the team is treated. The coaching staff is really special.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Mallory Johnson (2) serves during last season’s Division 1 Semifinal against Farmington Hills Mercy. (Middle) Johnson huddles for a moment during that match with her teammates including, from left, Kinsley Whitfield, Lainey VanTol and Caitlin Hartson.
'On the Map:' Nwabueze Hitting Rising Bloomfield Hills Into Championship Mix
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 30, 2025
BLOOMFIELD HILLS – Those who have kept an eye on the Division 1 state volleyball rankings this season may have done a double take at least a few times throughout the fall.
Was that Bloomfield Hills consistently ranked among the top five and now No. 2 in the latest coaches poll? Ahead of state powers such as Farmington Hills Mercy and Bloomfield Hills Marian?
Yes, that has been the case.
“I think we’ve put ourselves on the map this year,” said senior Kayla Nwabueze.
To those more familiar with Bloomfield Hills, it’s easier to see the biggest reason why the Blackhawks have become such a force – Nwabueze’s transcendent talent.
A finalist for the Miss Volleyball Award, she just surpassed 2,000 career kills, 1,000 career digs and 1,300 career receptions, and owns the school record for kills (2,013 heading into Wednesday’s match against Rochester).
Nwabueze has excelled at multiple positions on the court throughout her high school and club careers. But this season, first-year Bloomfield Hills head coach Brian Kim decided to put Nwabueze exclusively at outside hitter, and she had delivered with 547 kills heading into that Rochester match.
“It allowed her to have a more defined role in our offense,” Kim said. “Middle is her primary position, and she is extremely strong and capable in the middle. But we moved her to the outside to help out our offense.”
Nwabueze didn’t start club volleyball until age 12. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have skills already developed. Nwabueze has an older sister, Ashlea, who played the sport, and the two would constantly do drills and have practice sessions together before Kayla got into club ball.
“We definitely were playing outside,” Kayla said. “She definitely taught me to play volleyball in the backyard and helped me grow in volleyball.”
As much of a surgeon as Nwabueze is on the court – showing exceptional precision with her hitting – she wants to be an even better one off the court one day.
Nwabueze will play college volleyball at Harvard, where she wants to study medicine and ultimately become an orthopedic surgeon.
Nwabueze carries a 4.0 grade-point average attending the prestigious International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, which doesn’t have sports programs and allows students to play sports in the Bloomfield Hills district.
While she had overtures to play for more prominent college volleyball programs, the academic side of things was more of a priority – making Harvard the fit.
“I was just thinking about more than just volleyball and what I wanted to do after the fact,” said Nwabueze, who also considered Yale. “Harvard really had a nice plan for me.”
But there is more business to be taken care of in the coming weeks before Nwabueze starts focusing on that part of her future.
First, she is a legitimate candidate to become the first player in school history to win the Miss Volleyball Award.
More importantly, she wants to help Bloomfield Hills continue what’s been a historic season.
The Black Hawks will play in a District next week at Troy Athens, where a likely District Final matchup with No. 4-ranked and neighbor Bloomfield Hills Marian awaits.
Each team has a bye into Wednesday’s semifinal round, and barring major upsets, they should get through to face each other on Nov. 7.
“It is special to know that I broke some of the records here and set that bar,” Nwabueze said. “We have done so good this year, and we are still going and are still playing hard. I hope we can go farther.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTO (Top) Bloomfield Hills’ Kayla Nwabueze (19) winds up for a kill attempt this season against Lake Orion. (Photo by Kristina Sikora/KMS Photography. Headshot by Keith Dunlap.)