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Living Up to Her Last Name

When your father is a super bowl champion and your sister committed to a D1 college for volleyball, you find yourself under a lot of pressure to perform. But, for senior Madeline Williams, she thrives under this pressure.

Williams, having played volleyball since she can remember, loves being out on the court. Volleyball is a passion that she has had for a long time, and her hard work and dedication is finally starting to pay off.

Williams is the middle of three sisters, all reaching over 6 feet tall. Her older sister, Meegan, committed to Liberty University her senior year and now runs track for them. Her younger sister, Sarah Elizabeth, is a junior at Westminster, and although the youngest, also the tallest. Volleyball is definitely something that runs in the family.

About three weeks ago, Williams committed to play volleyball at Indiana State University as a middle hitter. She is the second one of her sisters’ to play D1 volleyball. Excited to be playing the sport she loves for at least four more years, Williams is ready to be a competitor at the next level.

“I wanted to play in college ever since sixth grade when I started playing club volleyball. It was something I fell in love with immediately, and wanted to do all year round,” said Williams.

In her senior season, Williams is playing an outside hitter as well as serving and playing a little back row. Although she is not playing outside in college, she is looking forward to the rest of the season and trying something new.

Being seven games into the season, Williams is leading the team in kill percentage and serve percentage. She leads the team with 51 kills and continues to be a strong blocker for the Wildcats’. The leadership Williams’ brings to the Wildcat team is unmatchable. Williams is surrounded with people on the court who love her and enjoy competing with her. Her poise and undeniable talent influences those around her to be better players.

“When Meegan [Madeline’s older sister] tore her ACL I was so sad for her and all the recovery she would have to endure… but it gave me the chance to get to know Madeline and play with her. We have played together for 3 1/2 years now and a season of club volleyball and became close friends throughout all of it. Madeline brings a fun energy to the court, and she is the most encouraging teammate,” said senior Avery Engelmeyer, who has played with Williams on Varsity since freshman year.

For many, after the high school volleyball season comes to an end, so does their volleyball careers until the next year. But for Williams, she considers her season just starting.

Williams plays club for High Performance and has been playing a year up since she started. She excels against higher competition and loves her teammates. Club volleyball is a very serious commitment and goes from the end of high school volleyball to sometimes even the middle of summer. Although club volleyball can be a lot for a high school athlete with tournaments nearly every weekend and late night practices 2-3 times a week, Williams does not regret playing year-round.

“Missing a lot of school and social events for club tournaments and practices was sometimes hard, but being able to play at the next level makes it all worth it,” said Williams.

Williams is very thankful for her opportunity to play college volleyball and can not wait to get to Indiana State. But for now, you can catch her on the Westminster court, helping her team win in any way she can.