Ironwood High School twins McKenna and McKenzie Omoruyi not only share looks, but a passion for volleyball and a love for music.

They are both members of their school’s choir program and the varsity girls volleyball team. 

“Even though they are alike, they could not be more different,” volleyball head coach Lisa Lopez said.

McKenna Omoruyi is a lefty, while McKenzie Omoruyi is a righty. McKenna Omoruyi is an outside hitter for the team, and McKenzie Omoruyi is an opposite hitter.

But their positions on the court and their hand dominance are not the only differences. 

“They look exactly the same, but they have totally different personalities,” Lopez said.

Lopez described McKenna Omoruyi as more reserved and says McKenzie Omoruyi is more outspoken.

“McKenzie seems in my room to be perhaps just a little bit more outgoing,” choir teacher Geoff Hutter agreed.

McKenna Omoruyi is more independent than her twin is, but her twin “admires” that. 

“She is a good role model in the fact that she doesn’t care what anyone thinks,” McKenzie Omoruyi said. “She is very much her own person, and that is something I look up to.”

McKenna Omoruyi views McKenzie Omoruyi as her role model too. She is the reason McKenna Omoruyi decided to join choir. 

For as long as McKenzie Omoruyi can remember, she has always had an interest in music. She would find herself listening to music and trying to imitate singers, and she daydreamed about performing at her own concerts and selling her own albums. 

“It sounds childish, but it is still my dream,” McKenzie Omoruyi said. “Singing and being a musician is my No. 1. It’s everything to me.”

McKenzie Omoruyi also expresses her love for music in band. She not only sings, but she plays the flute and the piano too.

It was McKenzie Omoruyi’s enthusiasm for music, and more importantly singing, that inspired McKenna Omoruyi to get involved in choir.  

“I think a lot of the stuff I found to love, I wouldn’t have discovered without her,” said McKenna Omoruyi. “I thank her for that.”

How the Omoruyi twins got introduced to volleyball is a different story. 

It all started at a young age when the twins went to see their older cousin play in her volleyball match: Tia Jimerson, who is now a sophomore attending Ohio University on a volleyball scholarship. 

The twins were intrigued by the sport and their mother, Genevieve Omoruyi, asked if they wanted to give it a try. So they did.

It started off as something for them to do for fun, but it has become so much more. The girls are indulged in and dedicated to volleyball just as much as choir, and both allow them to express themselves in different ways. 

McKenna Omoruyi said choir allows her to express the creative and artsy side of herself. McKenzie Omoruyi said volleyball allows her to express her competitive side.

“Volleyball is my place where I can get my competitive nature to soar,” said McKenzie Omoruyi.

That competitive nature is in both of the Omoruyi twins.

“When they are on the court, you see the competitiveness,” Lopez said. “They’re competitive. They’re warriors. Maybe choir has helped them with that.”

Choir has also helped McKenzie Omoruyi on the court in other ways. 

“Playing a sport and being a musician is definitely beneficial because being a musician, having to read the music is complicated and it opens up different parts of your brain,” she said. “[It] gets you to think about a lot of stuff and thinking while doing helps on the court because it is a mental game.”

Despite the time consumption and schedule conflicts, participating in choir and volleyball has been beneficial to both girls, especially when it comes to their relationship. 

“Volleyball and choir have strengthened our bond as sisters,” McKenzie Omoruyi said.