One of the key pieces of Lawrence County’s 48-win season, Kaylee Graham earned her spot in collegiate volleyball when she signed with Itawamba Community College last Wednesday.
A decision that was still in the works until a few months ago, according to her coach, Robin Hutto.
“She didn’t know if she wanted to play anymore; She had a few places she was looking at. “I told her, ‘You don’t have to play, but I’m going to take visits, go visit those schools,'” Hutto said. “When I went to Itawamba, Ava had just gone up and talked about how beautiful the campus was,” Hutto said.
Itawamba is located in Fulton, Mississippi and has an enrollment of 3,572 students as of 2021.
“It’s about an hour away, and the campus is beautiful, everything is so beautiful there,” Hutto said. “The trainer was very welcoming and told me it felt like home and I told her I didn’t think she would regret trying it again.”
She said they thought they got just a setter but she believes they will soon find out they got more than that.
“Kaylee can do it all, but I know they told her she was going to be a consistent six-course player,” Hutto said. But it’s the same thing she thought of, and it ended up doing a lot for us.
She said they will miss her greatly next year because of her influence on the court.
“When she got injured last year at the regional tournament, it really highlighted how much she had done, because she did a lot of little things here and there,” Hutto said. “Everyone notices it when you hit it hard or block it, but she kept the balls in play. We will miss everything about her.”
Hutto said she will be cheering for her baby girl as she embarks on her new journey, and she’s excited to see what that holds for her.
