July 02, 2025
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KCC’s Aniya Lewis commits to University of Mississippi for volleyball

A former 3-sport star at Kankakee High School, Lewis is jumping from KCC to the SEC

By Adam Tumino
Kankakee Community College's Aniya Lewis (second from right), her brother Anthony Lewis Jr. (left), mother Natasha Lewis and father Anthony Lewis Sr. pose for a photo after Aniya's commitment ceremony at KCC on July 1, 2025.

Kankakee Community College's Aniya Lewis (second from right), her brother Anthony Lewis Jr. (left), mother Natasha Lewis and father Anthony Lewis Sr. pose for a photo after Aniya's commitment ceremony at KCC on July 1, 2025. (Photo submitted by Bryce Shafer)

What a difference a year makes.

At this point in 2024, Aniya Lewis had just graduated from Kankakee High School and was getting ready to head to Kankakee Community College to play volleyball.

Now, after one standout season with the Cavaliers, Lewis is set to make the jump from KCC to the SEC.

In a ceremony Tuesday evening at KCC, Lewis committed to continue her college volleyball career at Mississippi with plenty of familiar faces on hand.

“I got to see my family, my loved ones, my teammates from KCC,” she said. “Also my high school teammates from high school teams, from volleyball and basketball. I also got to see my high school coach. They came out and supported me on this new journey, and it was really exciting.”

The move to Ole Miss marks quite the jump for Lewis. She will be going from an NJCAA Division II team, albeit a good one that finished the season with a 21-10 record, to a Rebels team that ended last season receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national rankings, falling just outside the top 25 with an 18-12 record. She led the Cavaliers with 5.12 kills per set last season, ranking third in the nation.

Lewis was a key piece of some good high school teams at Kankakee, with the Kays going 27-9 overall and 13-0 in the Southland Athletic Conference her senior season. But she was able to make some key improvements as a player at KCC to be in the position where schools like Ole Miss would take interest.

“When I [got] to KCC I was able to play high outside, a position I was really best in,” she said. “I was able to have Ole Miss pick me up from a JUCO and see the potential in me.”

Due in part to playing in a different position, Lewis’ athletic ability was able to be on more prominent display. A Daily Journal All-Area honorable mention in both volleyball and basketball in her senior season, as well as a part of the track team’s 4x100-, 4x200- and 4x400-meter relays that all won SAC titles and qualified for state, that athleticism was never lacking for Lewis.

Paired with her continued development on the mental side of the game, it has propelled her into a Division I program.

“As a player I just really improved my mindset,” she said. “I’m able to kind of be an all-around athlete when it comes to front row. I can play outside, right side or even middle. It’s just that I’m becoming a stronger athlete and am keeping on improving more as time goes on.”

KCC volleyball head coach Jill Morgan did not have a lot of time with Lewis throughout the season after taking over on an interim basis midway through the season, but was able to see the impact Lewis had on the court.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Morgan said. “I mean, it’s incredibly sad to lose her for our program, but my goodness, what an opportunity for her. We all have joked about how we’re going to have ‘Aniya watches’ on the big TV and watch her go and play.”

KCC athletic director Bryce Shafer said he is always glad when one of the department’s athletes is able to continue their athletic and academic career after using KCC as a launching pad.

“It’s really exciting for her,” he said. “I know that was her goal coming in from Kankakee High School, and that’s one thing we want to do here at KCC, provide athletes with opportunities to start here and then finish it at the big time. I mean, an SEC school is a big deal.”

Lewis will be majoring in communications at Ole Miss, where she said the academic support provided to student-athletes was another big factor in her decision to head there.

Overall, just being able to have the opportunity to play at the Division I level is something that she is not taking for granted.

“It means a lot to me, coming from a small town, from Kankakee, Illinois,” she said. “It just shows that no matter where you go, you can always succeed in anything you put your mind to. I came from a JUCO, put in the work for my first year, and now look at me. I’m going to a higher level at Ole Miss and just many more opportunities to come. That’s what I wanted.”