Lincoln High's Williams to play volleyball for Georgetown

Kylene Williams loves tennis. During her four years at Lincoln County High School, she ranked as one of the Lady Patriots’ top players and had aspirations of playing collegiate tennis.

However, that isn’t going to happen. The recent Lincoln County High School graduate waved good-bye to the thought of collegiate tennis by turning her attention to volleyball.

Williams, who played both tennis and volleyball at LCHS, made her decision official by signing to play volleyball for Georgetown College.

“At first I always wanted to play tennis, but since I’ve been playing it my whole life – and volleyball only for a little while – I wanted to see how far my newly found volleyball skills would take me,” said Williams. “I love the sport so much. I have my whole life to play tennis, volleyball is different.”

While getting an education was foremost on Williams’ mind when choosing a college home, she said being able to continue with her athletics was a major factor.

“I probably wouldn’t have gone to a school where I couldn’t continue with either sport,”¿she said. “Volleyball is such a passion of mine; I honestly could not see myself ending it in high school.”

Williams, who plans to major in biology at Georgetown, had several colleges to choose from when trying to narrow down her choices, including Bellarmine University, Western Kentucky University, Brescia University and Lindsey Wilson College.

“It came down to Georgetown and Brescia,” Williams said. “I just had to go with my gut. Georgetown was the first college I visited and I believe that was for a reason. I love the school, the campus, the people and the town. Everything about the college just felt right to me.”

It didn’t hurt that she fell in love with the Tiger volleyball team.

“My decision in choosing Georgetown came down to the volleyball team. I went up there to practice with the team, and the girls were all extremely welcoming, helpful, and nice,”¿she said. “That was the moment I knew I belonged there.”

Williams says that the success of the Tigers volleyball program also factored in her decision. Georgetown has gone 90-33 under coach Nick Griffin the past three seasons, including finishing as NAIA tournament runner-up in 2009. Georgetown has become a regular in the NAIA post-season tournament, participating in 13 of the last 19 tournaments.

Williams, who lives in Stanford with her grandparents John and Linda Oros, expects to start out on the Georgetown junior varsity team her freshman year. But she feels like she can be an impact player and possibly move up to varsity later in the season.

“Yeah, I think so,”¿she said, “especially looking back on my high school career as a middle hitter.”

Williams has yet to receive a conditioning program from Georgetown to help prepare her for the upcoming season but that hasn’t curbed her enthusiasm for getting to play volleyball at the next level.

“I’m nervous and excited,” she said. “Playing college volleyball will be so surreal! I’m ready to learn and better my skills. I can’t wait to take on this long-time dream of mine.”