February 17, 2020 – By NJP

Boys Volleyball is starting to get many more athletes from other sports to participate come Spring term. The excitement created on the high school volleyball court can be contagious and it usually only takes attending one game to light a fire. For D’Andrei Williams of Collingswood, it was a natural fit. D’Andrei spends his Fall on the Football field, his Winter on the Basketball Court, and his Spring playing VB.

Volleyball is a sport that D’Andrei truly excels. He had 48 blocks in 2019 as a sophomore. But let’s put this in perspective. Collingswood played 16 matches last year. That’s it. Averaging three blocks a match, let’s just make believe that Collingswood played as many games as Fair Lawn (40) or Old Bridge (44). That would put D’Andrei at about 125 blocks for the season. The top blocker in the state last year was Corey Manning Floyd of Snyder with 94. D’Andrei had 10 blocks in one match last year.

For his junior year, Williams be using his leaping ability for both attack and defense. Losing 5 starting varsity seniors, The Panthers will count on D’Andrei to use his athleticism and contribute to all facets of the game. We will see if this trend will be contagious and other varsity athletes will make their way over to the volleyball court in Collingswood. Or any other high school for that matter.

Here is our interview with D’Andrei…

Tell us a bit about yourself? (What school do you attend, what town do you live? What year are you graduating?, family?, etc…)

I attend Collingswood high school, I live in Collingswood, I graduate in 2021, and I have one older brother who I live with along my Mom and Dad.

How long have you played volleyball and what inspired you to take up volleyball initially?

I have played Volleyball since freshman year. I got inspired by my friends who knew I was an athlete from playing, football and basketball and they also knew that I loved to compete.

What are your metrics/details? Height, vertical, position, club team, etc… What’s your favorite position to play?

I am 6 foot 1 inch and weigh 160 pounds. My vertical is 35 inches and I play left side hitter or middle. I do not play on a club team. Left side hitter is my favorite position.

Who is your support group?

My support group is everyone in my family, my friends, and the facility at my school. They believe in me no matter what.

NJP considers you as one of the top players in the state. Do you plan on playing in College? (If so, which ones are you looking at?)

I’m a basketball player at heart but if I get the right opportunity and it works for me and my family I would love to play in college.

Which player last season was the toughest competitor that you faced and why?

The toughest player that I ever played against was my teammate JaQuan Paige. He just pushed me every day in practice to become better.

How will your high school team do in the upcoming season? Do you have a lot of returning players? What will be the key to success?

I feel that my high school team will do very well this upcoming season. We have a lot of returning players but we also lost many key players. I believe that we can do some big things this Spring.

What are your other hobbies?

I’m a 3 sport varsity athlete so every season I am always playing a sport that I love. Other than sports, I like hanging with my friends.