Oscar Smith senior's hoop dreams add hop to volleyball team

CHESAPEAKE

Oscar Smith senior Chris Williams readily admits his reason for initially playing volleyball was not to help the Tigers' volleyball team.

"I just did it to work on basketball," Williams said. "To work on my hops."

Williams first tried out as a sophomore and the early results weren't stellar.

"My sophomore year I don't think I was good at all," Williams said. "But coach (Ray) Collins said he saw so much potential."

It didn't take long for that potential to be realized. Williams earned first-team all-Southeastern District honors as a junior last year. This season he's a major reason the Tigers (7-2) are ranked eighth in South Hampton Roads.

On Thursday, Williams recorded 26 kills as the Tigers beat No. 9 Hickory in five sets.

"He came out with a good attitude, knew what his deficits were, and took that backseat role a little bit while he learned," Collins said. "And now, he's a great leader on the court."

Collins said he could see Williams had the ability to thrive immediately, because of his height - he's 6-foot-4 - and athletic talent.

The coach saw Williams come into his own during his junior season.

"He became our go-to guy starting about midway through the season," Collins said. "And from then on he's been our man that we're going to go to all the time."

That blossoming is more impressive considering Williams wasn't sure he wanted to stick with volleyball after his sophomore season. Basketball is his first love, and what he'll play in college - he's leaning toward Johnson C. Smith - so he was debating spending more time on that sport.

But Williams said the camaraderie he felt with his volleyball teammates brought him back.

"I love the feeling after you get a good kill and the crowd is crazy," Williams said.

"But my teammates, I basically do it for them. I've got a lot of guys who show me love and enjoy being around me, so I'm going to do what I have to do to help them."

Williams has gotten help this season from a number of those teammates, including fellow senior hitters Jared Flom and Charles Howard, and sophomore setter Nick Onley.

The Tigers should be in the mix for a district title in both basketball and volleyball this season. That brings a smile to Williams' face.

"This is a football school," Williams said. "I'm trying to put volleyball and basketball on the map."