Kayla Burbage spent one season at Missouri before entering the transfer portal. Knowing she wanted to use the rest of college eligibility somewhere, all she needed was one step on campus to know Illinois was where she was meant to be.

"The minute I stepped on campus, I felt that little spark," Burbage said. "When Illinois reached out, I jumped at the opportunity, was able to come on to campus and do an official visit, and I kind of fell in love with everybody here. When I was narrowing stuff down, I just kept coming back to Illinois."

After arriving in the summer, Burbage was not sure what to expect. Illinois had wrapped up an NCAA tournament berth and a trip to the Sweet 16, while Missouri struggled. As a freshman, Burbage made 24 starts with the Tigers. She led the team in total blocks and ranked third in kills.

Knowing the success the Illini had in 2021, Burbage initially thought the Illinois program was too good to be true, but that has been far from the truth.

"Obviously they had a lot of success last year, so coming in, I think you expect it to be really, really solid. I came from a program that had a rough year, so I almost had my guard up like, 'Oh, it might not be as good as it looks. There's probably issues internally,'" Burbage said. "I've not had a single issue since I've been here. It's such a solid program top to bottom. Everybody in this program cares so much about the program, and it really warms my heart to be a part of it now."

Burbage knew she would have an opportunity to compete with other pins for playing time and a spot in the rotation after talking with head coach Chris Tamas. She says demanding immediate playing time and a spot in the rotation would have been "very naive," but knew she was capable of proving herself in practice.

Without the opportunity to train with the coaching staff over the summer, Burbage had to prove herself to her teammates. She could sense something special in the air, and once the team embraced her with open arms, she knew she was home.

"Coming in, it's very, very scary to let yourself be vulnerable to another team and another program, but everybody here has very much let me in with open arms," Burbage said. "I honestly can't say enough about how much I appreciate everybody that's been in this program and showed me the ropes, whether it was practicing, conditioning, lifting.

"Obviously volleyball is a very, very big part of our life, especially now that we're in season, but everybody cares about what's going on outside of volleyball, whether it's personal life, whether it's school. You're a player and you're here to play volleyball, but you're also human."

Now a staple in the Illinois lineup, Burbage has played all six rotations and has started 16 of the team's 17 matches thus far. She ranks second on the Illini in kills (139), second in points (161.0), and tied for third in total blocks (40.0).

Having now played four home matches, the Clayton, North Carolina, native ranks Huff Hall atop her favorite arenas to play in, citing the "overwhelming support" from the Illini faithful as especially comforting while competing. Though she heard about the feeling of playing at Huff, actually experiencing it was a completely different feeling.

"I've seen a million photos of Huff packed to the brim with people, but until you really stepped foot in Huff Hall, there's nothing like it," Burbage said. "I've played in a lot of gyms, a lot of arenas in two different conferences, and nothing compares to the way it feels when Huff is full of people."

With more than half the conference slate still coming up and six home matches left to play, the Illini are gearing up for more battles in the Big Ten, and in her first season in Champaign, Burbage has already fit right in.

"I think the sky's the limit," Burbage said. "We had a few people step into different roles this season coming off of last season's Sweet 16 finish. We have some young players that didn't get as much experience last year but are ready to go in this year. 

"I think that we have the potential to beat some really, really solid teams in Big Ten, and I think we're on the brink of something very, very cool."