Volleyball sensation plays well beyond her years
By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
Where would Union Grove sophomore volleyball standout Kylie Wilks be today if her mother wouldn’t have let her tryout for the Wisconsin Juniors Club volleyball 11th team seven years ago?
She probably wouldn’t be a national club volleyball champion or a key contributor to the Broncos’ first-ever Division 1 state ranked volleyball team that finished one win away from a state tournament.
Fortunately for Wilks, her mother said yes to volleyball.
Now seven years into her volleyball career, Wilks has enjoyed a successful journey from a national junior volleyball championship to a record-breaking season for the Broncos.
“I begged my mom to let me tryout for the Wisconsin Juniors 11 team,” Wilks recalled. “I didn’t have to play, I just wanted to be part of the team.
Wilks ended up playing for the 11 team at the age of 9, which was the first of many volleyball accomplishments.
A few years later as a member of Wisconsin Juniors 14 team, Wilks won a national championship at the AAU Nationals in Florida.
“The emotions of winning a national championship are indescribable,” Wilks said. “It’s a great memory that I will some day get a chance to share with my kids.”
Now as a sophomore setter for the Broncos, Wilks has helped led the Broncos to two straight WIAA Division 1 Regional Championships, including the school’s first-ever top 10 ranking and first-ever trip to the Sectional Finals this past fall.
Wilks also earned first team All-Southern Lakes Conference honors, along with an honorable mention all-state nomination with 570 assists, 83 service aces, 369 digs, and 339 kills. Wilks has also drawn interest from many colleges, including a few Big 10 and ACC schools.
“This past fall was one of my favorite seasons in my seven years as a volleyball player,” Wilks said. “To be ranked in Division 1 for the first time in school history was special.”
The Broncos success was a bit of a surprise to Wilks, who wasn’t sure how far her team would go.
“It took me a little by surprise this year,” Wilks said. “I knew we would have a good year coming off of last season, but when we won the Whitewater tournament, I realized we were pretty good.”
After the Whitewater tournament, Wilks and the Broncos had more memorable matches, including a come-from-behind victory against Racine Horlick in the Regional Finals.
“After we came back from being 2-0 to Horlick, I knew we could make school history,” Wilks said. “I knew we could go farther than we’ve had before.”
Union Grove then defeated Greenfield 3-1 in the sectional semifinals to advance to the Sectional Finals against Muskego.
The Broncos’ run finally ended with a 3-0 loss against Muskego, finishing just one game short of advancing to the state tournament.
“Muskego had a great team,” Wilks said. “We put it all on the line out there and just had fun. To make it to state would have been great, but it was a great year overall.”
Despite not making it to state, Wilks still has two more years to make it to the state tournament.
“I’m definitely hungry to make it to state,” Wilks said. “We are going to miss our three seniors we graduated, but we could be better next year because we have the will to get better.”
With all that Wilks has accomplished, a state tournament shouldn’t be out of the question.
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