Senior Millikin volleyball star Kailee Itzenhuiser is the modern-day superwoman.
Itzenhuiser has played volleyball since high school, so it has become a massive part of her life over the years.
But volleyball isn’t her only passion.
Itzenhuiser is an elementary education major with a special education and an English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement. In the fall of 2024, amid her senior volleyball season, she was required to get 40 observation hours for her upcoming student teaching experience.
All education majors must complete a semester of student teaching to receive their diplomas.
In the coming semester, Itzenhuiser will be student teaching in her former first-grade teacher’s classroom in Naperville, her hometown. This is also the classroom where she received her observation hours.
Traveling from Decatur to Naperville was not the ideal situation, that would require a lot of driving due to the rigorous volleyball schedule. But Itzenhuiser made it work.
“I walked in [the] first day of classes to my coach and said, ‘Hey, this is what I have to do. We’re going to figure this out; I will not miss a game,’” Itzenhuiser said. “That’s the line that I drew. I will not miss a game. I might have to miss a couple [of] practices, but [it’s the coach’s] call to what practices I miss.”
Itzenhuiser’s routine for the fall semester was to go to classes and volleyball practice on Mondays, then leave for Naperville after practice. Then on Tuesdays, she would student teach, and after the school day was over, she would drive back to Decatur just in time for volleyball practice.
The head volleyball coach Whitney Nichols has been supportive throughout Itzenhuiser’s senior year endeavors.
“We’re just finding ways to make sure she’s being set up for her future,” Nichols said. “I mean, that’s honestly what D3 is about. You’re a student first, and you’re an athlete second.”
Itzenhuiser already has a busy schedule with getting her observation hours in, going to classes, and attending volleyball practices. If you add homework to the mix, her schedule gets even crazier.
“I pretty much set my Sundays aside,” Itzenhuiser said. “I am a very ‘time management person.’ I will push everything to the last minute, and I will rock it all out. But until that last minute, I will not do it. So I just kind of use Sundays as my little study day.”
Itzenhuiser is working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in elementary education, so the homework is not easy.
Regardless of how difficult her homework is, Itzenhuiser’s goal is to become a teacher. From a young age, she had a knack for teaching others.
“I was in third grade, [and] on my report card, it would say, ‘she needs to do her own work before she helps someone else,’” Itzenhuiser said.
Nichols has had the opportunity to see how gifted Itzenhuiser is at teaching.
“She has goals set for herself, not only with the remainder of our season but just in teaching in general, and whenever she’s around little kids, she wants to make an impact,” Nichols said. “And I think the last three summers that I’ve been here with our [volleyball] summer camps, we have put her with the [little kids], we’ve put her with the [big kids], she’s taken it on, and she’s done phenomenal things.”
Not only does Itzenhuiser’s skill for teaching others help her become a teacher, but it also helps her on the court as a captain.
“I’ve actually always had a strong sense of leadership,” Itzenhuiser said. “During my high school years, I was always captain of my club [volleyball] team, so it was kind of just born in me.”
Itzenhuiser played varsity volleyball in her first year on the team. In her sophomore year, she became captain and has held the title since.
“For someone to be named as captain for three years, it’s very unlikely, I would say,” Nichols said. “But it goes to show, one, her maturity; two, her determination and her firepower; and three, just the type of person she is.”
During her first year as a captain, Itzenhuiser used the year to observe and learn from her fellow captains.
“I was excited, but I also had a learning year because there were other captains that were older than me, so I got to not only [explore] my personality but also see how they led and then followed that kind of lead,” Itzenhuiser said.
She has found her footing as captain and has held the position for three years of her career.
“For the team aspect [of being a captain], it’s making sure everybody’s having a good day,” Itzenhuiser said. “So I help people pick each other back up. I make sure during games we’re all looking at the one goal and not having someone feel like they’re letting the team down or anything, because at the end of the day, it is a team sport, and everything happens as a team.”
Junior Delaney Higgins spent this year working next to Itzenhuiser as one of her co-captains.
“[Itzenhuiser] leads more vocally, I would say,” Higgins said. “And I think since I am co-captain with her, I’m more of a leader by example, less vocally, so that’s definitely something I’ve learned from her and can take away from her.”
Itzenhuiser has been a massive role model for a Millikin volleyball team that enters the NCAA Division III tournament with a 29-5 record. She is not just a good leader, but she’s an amazing volleyball player.
In 2023, Itzenhuiser played in 33 matches and led the team in kills with a total of 460. She added 495 digs and 23 blocks and also earned American Volleyball Coaches All-Region Honorable Mention honors and was named First Team All-CCIW.
These statistics are similar to the other two years she has played on the team as well.
“She is just fiery in everything that she does,” Nichols said. “She does not take losing for an option, and that’s what makes her one of the best players in the CCIW, not only just in our conference, but I would say, in Division Three volleyball.”
Itzenhuiser is going to leave a massive hole in the volleyball team when she graduates.
“She’s probably one of my most consistent passers, hitters, everything, but I mean, we have a lot of girls that can step up and a lot of girls that can get the job done,” Higgins said. “Obviously, no one’s going to take over what Kailee has done exactly, but everyone can step up in their own ways, and I think it’ll be okay.”
During the 2024 season, Itzenhuiser got a concussion and sat out of a couple of games. The team had a chance to truly feel what it was going to be like without her in the future.
“She’s going to be a kid that is going to be extremely hard to replace, not only just as an athlete but just as a person in general,” Nichols said.
But the volleyball team isn’t going to be the only one losing a part of them this year. They are going to be losing an amazing person as well.
Itzenhuiser seems like such a serious person. She is a beast on the court, a genius when it comes to schooling, and just impressive all around. But those aspects aren’t all of Itzenhuiser’s life, she can be playful when she wants to.
“She can be goofy,” Nichols said. “She can throw some very funny jokes your way. I mean, there are times where, like, there might be a moment where I would say, it’s tight, and she’ll just say something, and it’ll be like, ‘Oh, where’d the tightness go?’ She has the right words at the right time, and when she’s around the people that make her feel at home, she’s just fun.”
Higgins works closely with Itzenhuiser as one of her co-captains, but even Higgins doesn’t just see Itzenhuiser as a beast on the court. She sees her as a person.
“I think, as a person, she comes off very serious, but she’s not as serious as she seems, and some people may be scared of her for not knowing her, but that’s not the case at all,” Higgins said. “I think she is a super fun person to be around, and she cares for everyone a lot.”
The team will be missing Itzenhuiser, and she will be missing them and volleyball in general. This is Itzenhuiser’s last year in volleyball, and she is truly going to miss playing at the collegiate level.
“Four years through high school, I was focused on volleyball,” Itzenhuiser said. “Four years through college, I was focused on volleyball. So it’s definitely going to be a change, but I think I have set myself up to enjoy that change as much as possible and really be able to dive into student teaching. I’m going to go home and coach volleyball. So it’s not like I will just be like, ‘Bye volleyball.’”
Regardless of Itzenhuiser moving on and pursuing her career goals, she will be remembered at Millikin for her amazing volleyball skills.
“I would say Millikin volleyball-wise, she’s probably one of the best [that’s] ever done it here,” Nichols said. “She’s out there with the greats.”
Following the team’s loss to Illinois Wesleyan University in the CCIW Tournament Championship this year, the team received a bid to play in the NCAA Tournament. Millikin opens play Thursday in Holland, MI. against Cornell College.
The team getting a bid in 2024 means Itzenhuiser has been to the NCAA Tournament three times in her four years playing volleyball for Millikin.
In her sophomore year, she tore her ACL at the tournament and had an impressive recovery lasting only six months.
“We made it to the NCAA tournament last year again, and hopefully we make it this year, which is again unheard of for Millikin,” Itzenhuiser said. “So it’s just exciting that [I] get to be part of history being made.”
Overall, Itzenhuiser has had an impressive four years at Millikin. She has put in the work in both school and volleyball.
Itzenhuiser is truly the modern-day superwoman.
“She’s a kid that has the ‘it’ factor, and you don’t come across those kids a lot of the time,” Nichols said. “It’s hard to find those kids. And we’re lucky to have her on our side because I know just talking with the other coaches in the CCIW, they’re like, ‘Man, we can’t wait for that kid to graduate.’ And I’m like, well, I don’t want her to graduate.”
