Monroe's Kylin Munoz stands tall on volleyball court

Kylin Munoz had all the makings of a magnificent volleyball player.

Size, athleticism, finesse, temperament.

April and Mike Munoz, former players themselves, recognized it early in their oldest daughter's development.

Kylin took a bit more convincing. As a kid, she was crazy about basketball. Volleyball was mom's and dad's thing.

But friends who played kept pestering her, so in eighth grade she agreed to give club volleyball a shot. The two were a perfect match.

"I finally gave in and tried out and ended up loving it," Kylin said.

She poured her heart and soul into the sport and developed into one of the premier players in the country. Kylin, a 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter at Monroe High School, was rated No. 6 on PrepVolleyball.com's list of "Senior Aces" this fall. And she is the big reason the sixth-ranked Bearcats (26-3) are considered contenders in the Class 4A state volleyball tournament Friday and Saturday at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

But when she talks about her love of volleyball, Kylin doesn't focus on the thrill of the big kill or devastating block. Her focus is on the teamwork it takes to deliver those blows.

"There isn't just one star player on the team," she said. "You have to have a perfect pass and have a perfect set to get a kill, so it's the whole team aspect of it I really like."

While her talent and training have thrust her into the limelight, Kylin isn't comfortable with all of the hype.

"She doesn't like the attention," said April Munoz, a former Washington player who also is Monroe's head coach.

But her play demands it.

"Some kids just play with matches; Kylin just takes them over," Kentwood coach Bil Caillier said.

Kylin hammered a school-record 48 kills in a five-game victory over Marysville-Pilchuck this season. She averages nearly 27 kills per match, along with 11 digs, and is in consideration for All-America honors.

"She's probably the best hitter I've seen in my 35 years around here," Edmonds-Woodway coach Mike Pittis said. "She's 6-1 and she's got arms like she's 6-5. She just gets up and puts the ball down. She just keeps coming at you and coming at you and coming at you."

John Tawa, founder and managing editor of PrepVolleyball.com, calls her a "smooth operator" who plays with grace and an uncanny sense of where the next attack will come from.

"Smart, skilled, athletic and kind to all, she is the kind of player all coaches covet," he said.

Kylin was recruited by well over 100 colleges, including the last four national champions — Penn State, Nebraska, Washington and Stanford. The first scholarship offers came her sophomore year and after narrowing her choices to Washington and Brigham Young, she picked BYU last spring.

"Both schools are amazing," she said. "I kind of like how [BYU] is further away from home and I really like the team, the girls. So it just felt like a good fit."

Teammates say Kylin is a humble, fun-loving person who loves to laugh.

"She can be goofy at times," senior setter Kaitlyn Drew said. "But she knows when she needs to be serious."

Kylin has a serious affection for Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, so much so that teammates presented her with a life-size cutout of him on senior night.

"I just think he's an amazing athlete," she said.

This has been a special season for Kylin in part because she has been able to share it with her sister, Kendal, a freshman on the team, as well as her mom.

"It's kind of a family thing," she said.

An experience the Munoz family hopes doesn't end until Saturday night as the Bearcats look to improve on last year's eighth-place finish.

"I want to go out with a bang," Kylin said.