Titan Memories: Kayla Neto – The Clarksburg Kill Leader

8/12/2025 10:00:00 AM | By: Kirk San Roman

Clarksburg, Calif., is a small, Yolo County town of less than 500 citizens. Even in that remote environment, Kayla Neto's volleyball skills shone brightly enough to attract the attention of Cal State Fullerton coaches, Carolyn Zimmerman and Vinh Nguyen.

As a four-year letter winner at Christian Brothers High School, the honor student helped lead her Falcon team to the 2008 CIF Championship, and received numerous all-conference and all-region honors.

Kayla mainly credits her club volleyball experience with the Delta Valley 15s, Force 16/17s, and NCVC 18s (NorCal Volleyball Club) for making her visible to D1 recruiters. Neto added, "My high school team was very competitive, so playing for (Christian Brothers) kept me in good form for club season."

When asked why she selected Cal State Fullerton, Kayla explained: "I wanted to stay in California, and when I visited the campus, I felt very comfortable and 'at home'. It ended up being a great decision to play under (Zimmerman and Nguyen), and I had an extremely positive experience with the program."

At 6'2", Neto played both middle blocker and outside hitter during her 2009-2012 Titan career. Kayla earned multiple All-American and All-Big West honors and remains in CSUF's career top-ten in 11 categories.

"I think my greatest skill was being an all-around player," Neto stated. "I was a middle blocker most of my career, and transitioned to an outside hitter during my junior year at Fullerton. I was coached early on in my club days that to be a great player, you had to be skilled at all aspects of the sport. So, middles had to be able to set, play defense, etc."

Among Kayla's most treasured memories from her Titan playing career were a preseason win over UCLA during her freshman year; snapping a long losing streak against Long Beach State in 2012; and winning the 2010 Big West championship, and making an NCAA tournament appearance versus Colorado State.

Off the court, Neto remembered "Postgame car rides with Vinh. We had so much fun during those rides: Lots of loud music, singing, laughing, we had such a fun group during my 4 years."

Kayla also wanted to be sure to acknowledge those individuals who had a great impact on her time at CSUF: "Mostly Vinh, Carolyn, and my teammate, Gabi Dewberry. We were recruited in the same year, and lived and played together. She was such a huge part of my development and experience there.

"Also. Raimi Young, who was our assistant coach for one season during my sophomore year. She had such a fun energy and had a major role in getting us to our first NCAA appearance. I'm still in touch with a majority of my teammates from that time, thanks to social media. Unfortunately, I haven't been back to Southern California in almost 10 years, but I would love to have a mini reunion when I do make it back."

Asked what she has been doing since graduating from Cal State Fullerton, Kayla answered: "I went on to play professional volleyball in Switzerland and Denmark for three years. I then decided to get my MA in Copenhagen, and have been working and living there ever since. I'm married to Thomas Scott Hughes, and we have two children, Asta (4) and Emma (1). I currently work in tech sales for Neurons, a start-up company in Copenhagen, and am very happy to have built a life here."

Longtime Titan volleyball booster, Reed Smoke, opined: "Being selected an All-American and four-time First Team All-Big West performer, I believe that Kayla is perhaps the best to have played at Cal State Fullerton.

"I especially remember that her parents would host the team each year before the Cal Poly road game. They did a great job, and everyone enjoyed their time at her parent's home."

Honors

B.A., Communication and Media Studies, Cal State Fullerton – 2013
M.A., Cognition and Communication, Kavebhavns Universitet – University of Copenhagen – 2018
AVCA All-American, Honorable Mention – 2009, 2012
AVCA All-West Region – 2009, 2012
AVCA All-West Region, Freshman of the Year - 2009
All-Big West Conference, First Team – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
All-Big West, Freshman of the Year – 2009
Big West Conference Champions – 2010
CSUF Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year - 2012

CSUF Volleyball Career Records