University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Kayla Rivera
August 28, 2019 | Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Kayla Rivera grew up by the beach, in Ventura, Calif., about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. The beach and the water had been lifelong companions until the Georgia sophomore volleyball player arrived in Athens last summer.
During a Quick Chat before practice Tuesday, the outside hitter talked about home, about funny moments with her teammates, her singing ability and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What was the best or most interesting thing you did this summer?
Rivera: I went to a lake house with some of my track friends and Dalaney (Hans) and Mallory (Hernandez), and that was probably it. We had summer workouts all summer, so that was a lot of what I did.
Frierson: Did you work on anything specific part of your game this summer?
Rivera: Last summer I was actually injured so I didn't get to do any of the summer workouts, so this was my first summer even getting to do them. I was focusing on trying to be conditioned so I wasn't tired at practice and that kind of stuff.
Frierson: When you think of your home, when you think of Ventura, what comes to mind?
Rivera: The beach — I miss the beach so much. We used to all the time and the Ventura sunsets are pretty memorable; I also miss hanging out with my friends and things like that. My parents actually, in January, just moved to Lake Havasu, Ariz., so when I go home for holiday breaks I usually go to both places.
Frierson: Did you grow up surfing and doing things like that?
Rivera: I wouldn't say I grew up surfing but after volleyball practice sometimes we would go surf — I was never any good at it.
Frierson: I lived on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for two years and I had a board that was practically a pier it was so big. I could get up on it but I couldn't do anything that would resemble a move. And you know this better than I, there's just something about being in that water that makes you feel good.
Rivera: Definitely. My favorite thing ever was swimming in the ocean, just for hours sometimes.
Frierson: Did Ventura feel like part of L.A. at all or was it more of a world apart because of the distance?
Rivera: I would say, a world apart, like very different. I wouldn't say I was from L.A. at all; Ventura is less city-like and more of a beach town.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Rivera: I think any type of Mexican food, I could have Mexican food for every meal.
Frierson: Same here. Is there a dish you get more than any other?
Rivera: I usually get enchiladas and tacos, for sure.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Rivera: Hmmm, probably Mallory. I would say Mallory since I hang out with her a lot. But Brynn (Chandler) and I are really similar and we have some of those moments when you can't breathe because you're laughing so hard. That happens a lot, too.
Frierson: I feel like that's maybe one of the underrated parts of playing team sports, and it's not just confined to sports. Those hysterical moments that you have, that you couldn't explain to anyone that wasn't there, those are priceless.
Rivera: You can't, you have to be there. Brynn and I, it will be just, like, a word or a look, and we'll start busting open (with laughter) and no one knows what we're talking about.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there something creative you wish you could do?
Rivera: I wish I was more creative, I feel like I'm kind of dull. I do sing with friends but in a joking way because I'm very bad at it — very, very bad at singing.
Frierson: What's your go-to song to sing poorly?
Rivera: I don't know, Mallory and I rap a lot, so what is the new rap song out, we've probably got it down.
Frierson: Is there a song you wish you could actually sing really well?
Rivera: "Shallow," the song that came out on the soundtrack for the Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga movie "A Star Is Born." I wish I could sing that.
Frierson: If you could go anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?
Rivera: I would take all of my friends from Ventura and from Georgia, and we would go anywhere there is a white-sand beach. Maybe the Bahamas or something.
Frierson: What do you know now, either as a volleyball player or a student-athlete or just as a person, that you wish you'd known a year ago at this time?
Rivera: That the margins are very thin between players. This kind of goes with volleyball or anything you're trying to get good at, it doesn't take very much to drop below someone. Even like (coach Tom Black) always says, the first-place team and the last-place team are really so close. It just takes that extra oomph from everyone to make it higher up.
It takes a lot of discipline to get just that little 2 percent more from everyone that can make all the difference.
Frierson: In what way have you grown the most since you got to college?
Rivera: I think I have matured a huge amount, from my freshman to sophomore year. I feel like I have become a completely different person, in volleyball ways and in just living my life and who I surround myself with and the way I deal with a lot of situations. And my perspective on the world is also a lot different.
Frierson: Did you play any other sports growing up or was it just volleyball all the time?
Rivera: I played softball for about three years and then I moved and I didn't want to play anymore, and I started playing volleyball in seventh grade. My seventh-grade math teacher was like, you have to play, and I didn't want to.
I went and I tried out ... my first year I was not good at all, but after my last tournament, I was 13, we were just messing around on the courts and I was hitting the ball harder. My coach was like, "Whoa, that was really good, you should keep doing that." And the next year I got significantly better and started playing outside (hitter), which is a big change, and I really liked it.
Frierson: Did you play much beach volleyball growing up?
Rivera: Yeah! I played a lot in the summer, in tournaments, for two or three years, and my senior year I stopped because I was really focusing on indoor. But it does help your indoor game a lot, it's really fun.
Frierson: In what way does it help your indoor game?
Rivera: It gets you in shape; my vertical went up so high playing beach and it helps with ball control and stuff.
Frierson: I would love for Georgia to have a beach volleyball team one day. In my head, we figure out a way to play the matches on North Campus, right there in one of the prime spots on campus and downtown Athens.
Rivera: I think lots of people would go and watch that.
Frierson: What's the best sporting event you've ever attended?
Rivera: Probably a Georgia football game, certainly the most exciting. Before that I only ever went to college volleyball games and the crowds were never as big.
Frierson: So what was that first Georgia football game like, being surrounded by 92,000 people?
Rivera: My first time was on my official visit and it was so crazy. I had my pom-poms and it was really cool.
Frierson: Was that game and all the excitement part of your decision to come here, because it was such a big, compelling experience?
Rivera: It actually was because when I was committed to (Loyola Marymount, where Black was before becoming Georgia's head coach), there was no football team there and it's a lot smaller school. I was only 15 when I committed, so I was super young.
When Tom and everyone came here, I was like, I think this is a better fit anyway. It's a different college experience, I'll be really going away to college and there's a football team. My very first letter ever from a college ever, when I was 15, was from here, from the previous coach. I threw it away because I thought it was too far away, so I thought that was kind of cool that I ended up coming here. It was like a sign.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
