Volleyball: Williams to sign with California Lutheran University

Douglas High senior Taryn Williams was torn between opposite corners of the country.

She had attractive offers to play college volleyball in Boston at Stonehill College or in Southern California at either California Lutheran or Chapman University.

Back and forth she went for several months. Division II ball in the Northeast or Division III ball in Southern California?

Four times she changed her mind until finally settling on Stonehill. The next morning, just one more time, she made one more change and chose Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

This time it stuck.

"It was really hard," Williams said. "I've never had to make a decision like this in my life. It was Malibu or Boston and I was going back and forth.

"I liked Boston so much and Stonehill was the first school I fell in love with. I liked it so much but then I saw Cal Lutheran and I loved that even more.

"It really came down to what volleyball was going to be better for me in the long run and I'm really happy with my decision."

She makes it official Wednesday in a signing ceremony at the high school at 12:30 p.m.

Williams had a stellar senior season during which she earned first-team All-Sierra League honors while helping the Tigers to the Sierra League crown. She finished the year with 255 kills, 166 service points, 96 digs, 56 blocks, 39 aces and 12 assists. Douglas went 34-2 overall on the year and undefeated in league play.

"Volleyball is a sport where it's not unrealistic to think that you can go far in it," she said. "In basketball, girls don't just go to the WNBA, you know? Volleyball is more realistic. There are the Olympics and there are national leagues.

"I really want to get into beach volleyball. Being down in Southern California is going to help me get a better feel for that. There's a huge beach at the school while a bunch of beach courts.

"I had an awesome visit. The team was so nice and you could tell they actually care about each other. It reminded me of my high school team last year. The coach was so awesome, she reminded me a lot of (Douglas coach) Suzi (Townsell)."

It was that type of familiarity that helped with the final decision.

"It's going to be a good way to meet new people," she said "I was worried about homesickness, but it'll be like having an instant family with the team. And, my brother is going to school 20 minutes away at Pepperdine.

"I just want to make a difference on a team. We had a such a good team this year and we went so far and I want to be a part of something like that again."

At Cal Lutheran, she'll get the chance to do exactly that.

The Regals have advanced to the NCAA postseason in three of the last four years, making it to the West region finals in 2008.They also produced two All-Americans last season.

They were a relatively young team in 2008, losing only four seniors, meaning competition for playing time will be stiff heading into next year.

"I'm not going to be coming in at the bottom, but I'm not coming in as a star either," Williams said. "I'm going to have to work really hard, which is what I want. I think if I really try, I can get some playing time the first year."

The fact that Division III schools don't offer athletic scholarships was a positive factor in Williams' decision-making process.

"I liked the whole idea of it," she said. "The girls are playing because they love the sport, not because they are on a full-ride scholarship. They just want to play. It's going to be more like high school that way."

Williams received a significant academic financial package to help defray the cost of tuition.

"I want to major in chemistry and I have a feeling that is going to be really hard," she said. "I'll have more time for that at Division III than I would at the higher levels."