West Lafayette's Rachel Williams commits to Purdue volleyball
WEST LAFAYETTE - Rachel Williams went through the recruiting process and had no shortage of options.
It turns out the West Lafayette senior didn't have to look very far to find everything she wanted as a college student and Division I volleyball player.
Williams turned down other opportunities to accept a walk-on invitation from Purdue.
She'll join the Boilermakers' incoming 2023 class next fall.
"It is a weight lifted off my chest going into my senior year knowing where I am going and having it planned out," Williams said. "Excited is an understatement."
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Williams is quite familiar with Purdue's volleyball program and the coaching staff already is quite familiar with her.
Williams' father, Calvin, is an associate athletic athletics director at Purdue and works directly with the volleyball program as its sports administrator.
Calvin Williams also is a former football standout for the Boilermakers from 1986-89 before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles and playing seven NFL seasons. Rachel's older brother, Jonah, is a former Purdue football walk-on.
"Their experiences there had an impact on me. They said it felt like home immediately," Rachel Williams said. "I really look up to both of them, so when they said that, I knew Purdue was going to be a good fit for me.
"My dad was like, it is like a full-time job. I love volleyball so much, so to have that for my full-time job for at least four years sounds like the best thing in the world right now."
Williams, who plans to study selling and sales, also is drawn to the academic courses as much as the volleyball program, but having a chance to train with some of the best players in the country was a nice bonus.
"I know I am going to be playing with the best of the best every single practice," she said. "I know every single practice they are going to be pushing me to get better and vice versa. If I can push you and you can push me, as a culture, it is just going to get better and better. ... Academic wise, I felt like I would be challenged the most at Purdue."
The Boilermakers have maintained a spot among the nation's best collegiate volleyball programs, coming off consecutive Elite Eight appearances. Rachel Williams has seen that success firsthand, while simultaneously experiencing her own success as a standout volleyball player, currently with Circle City Volleyball Club and the West Lafayette Red Devils.
With West Lafayette, Williams helped lead the Red Devils to sectional championships in 2019 and '21. West Lafayette had to withdraw from the 2020 state tournament due to COVID.
Williams has a chance to accrue more than 1,000 career kills and digs before she graduates, currently with 840 kills and 679 digs, along with 168 aces.
But, now with a college decision finalized, she's more focused on winning.
"This year can be our year once again," Williams said. "We had such a successful season last year (28-3 record). We didn't return a lot of our players but I feel like our culture is still there and it can still be an amazing season for us."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette's Rachel Williams commits to Purdue volleyball
