Kara Bajema

Kara Jane Bajema (born March 24, 1998) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for the United States women's national volleyball team and Turkish professional club VakıfBank S.K.

Personal life

Bajema was born in Bellingham, Washington to parents Shane and Beth. She spent a few of her early years in Michigan before her family relocated back to Washington. She played soccer until seventh grade before moving on to basketball and volleyball. She has two siblings who are also athletes: an older sister who played soccer at the University of South Carolina, and a brother who plays basketball.

She attended Lynden Christian high school. She was a top 100 national volleyball recruit in her high school class and was a MaxPreps First Team All-American in 2015. She played both volleyball and basketball and led her high school to multiple state titles, earning MVP honors in both sports.

Career College

Bajema, a standout multi-sport athlete in basketball and volleyball, chose to focus on volleyball for the remainder of her career. She was recruited as a middle blocker when she chose to play for the University of Washington, but transitioned to outside hitter before the start of her sophomore season. She played both indoor and beach volleyball for Washington. As a junior in 2018 during her indoor career, her first season as a six-rotation outside hitter, she led the team with 475 kills and 533.5 points, which was the ninth-most in a single season and also the most since 2014. She was named a Third-Team All-American. As a senior in 2019, she broke a 17-year-old school record for most kills in a season with 597, averaging 4.63 per set, and earned First Team All-American honors. She finished her collegiate career ranked sixth in school history with 1,482 kills.

Bajema graduated from Washington in 2020 with a degree in education, Communities, and Organization.

Professional clubs

Casalmaggiore (2020–2021) KS DevelopRes Bella Dolina Rzeszów (2021–2022) VakıfBank S.K. (2022–2023) Vero Volley Milano (2023–2024) Jakarta BIN (2024–2023) Savino del Bene Scandicci (2024–)

USA National Team

In May 2022, Bajema made her national team debut when she was named to the 25-player roster for the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League tournament.

Awards and honors

Individual 2021–2022 Polish Cup – Most Valuable Player, with KS DevelopRes Bella Dolina Rzeszów 2024 Indonesian Women's Proliga – Best Blocker, with Jakarta BIN

Clubs

2021–2022 TAURON Liga – Image:Med 2.png Silver medal, with KS DevelopRes Bella Dolina Rzeszów. 2021–2022 Polish Cup 16px Champion, with KS DevelopRes Bella Dolina Rzeszów. 2024 Indonesian Women's Proliga 16px Champion, with Jakarta BIN.

College

AVCA First Team All-American (2019) 2019-20 Tom Hansen Medal Winner AVCA Pacific North Region Player of the Year (2019) AVCA Third Team All-American (2018) Pac-12 All-Freshman Team (2016)