It all belies his past as a football player at Austin College.
Although there have been a time or two when Williams lets his football side come out. Just ask Audrey Nalls. In 2022, Williams’ first season at TCU after a longtime stint as an assistasnt at Baylor, Nalls went from underachieving to overwhelming, as evidenced by her first-team All-Big 12 selection.
“He didn’t try to change a whole lot of my style of play,” said Nalls, a fifth-year outside hitter from Waxahachie, Texas. “For him and me — and for the whole team — it was more like, if you’re a hitter, you are hitting high, and you’re breaking fingers.”
Williams confirmed the story.
“I put her on a no tip or roll rule,” he said. “I was like, ‘Audrey, you have a cannon. Why would you use a BB gun? Stop doing all this tip and roll crap and just crush balls and break fingers.’ ”
That simple, direct approach to the game helped TCU make one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Division I in 2022. After going 2-14 in Big 12 play in 2021, the Horned Frogs went a program-best 11-5 last season — 17-11 overall — and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. They upset Washington before losing in the second round to Wisconsin.
It should be noted that Williams didn’t hang up his helmet and magically transform into a volleyball mastermind. After two years of football at Austin, he played beach volleyball, serving mostly as a setter. He also married a setter, the former Cory Sivertson, the first volleyball player inducted into Baylor’s athletic hall of fame. Not coincidentally, their daughter, Callie, played at Baylor and after transferring to TCU also made the Big 12 first-team last year,
From there he worked his way through the club and junior ranks before landing as an assistant at Baylor. He was with the Bears from 2015-22 then was ready to take on the challenge of having his own program.
Before Williams’ arrival, TCU had six consecutive seasons of sub-.500 volleyball in the Big 12. Interest across campus had waned, and the program seemed to be stuck in neutral.
So what led to the abrupt turnaround, the biggest by any Power 5 team last season? Williams attributed it, in part, to being an older first-time coach. He had been around the block and had seen Baylor achieve a good amount of success in his time on the sidelines there.
He also credited his assistants, including…
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