Serving Up Success: Ryan Wills Joins Liberty Women’s Volleyball Coaching Staff

Just 72 hours after receiving a call from Liberty University’s Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Jeremy White, Ryan Wills was on his way to Liberty Mountain to assume his position as the new assistant coach in Dec. 2024.  

 Growing up, Wills played a multitude of sports, including basketball. Wills always felt a deep connection to athletics and knew he wanted to pursue a career in sports.  

“I’ve always known I’ve wanted to coach, probably since I started in sports in early high school,” Wills said. 

Though he originally thought he would have a career in basketball, his plans changed. After meeting his wife, Evyn Wills, in high school, he fell in love with volleyball.  

“She was a really good volleyball player. She kind of got me into the sport,” Wills said. “I played it a little bit at a local school, and it kind of turned into a career eventually.” 

Evyn, an accomplished volleyball player, introduced Wills to the sport. He attended her tournaments and completely immersed himself in the game, even playing with her from time to time. Ultimately, this time led to have a passion for the game.  

Wills eventually took his first coaching position as a student assistant volleyball coach in 2006 at the University of Tulsa.  

Wills’ journey continued to unfold as he took on more significant roles in the volleyball world. After his time at Tulsa, he transitioned to become a volunteer assistant women’s volleyball coach at UCLA. 

From there, Wills accepted a position as assistant coach for the University of Alabama where he spent three years and saw them receive their most wins in school history for a single season at the time, going 24-10 in 2013, according to RollTide.com. 

The following year, Wills returned to his alma mater: Tulsa. 

Over the course of nine seasons, Wills established himself as a leader and a mentor to the players he coached. Under his leadership, the Lady Golden Hurricanes had a 137-126 record, according to Liberty Athletics  

Wills’ focus was not only about wins and losses as he was also committed to the academic and personal growth of the team. In 2020, the team earned conference recognition with the American Athletic Conference Team Academic Excellence Award for the highest team GPA, according to The American.   

Wills saw his most successful season in 2014 when the Golden Hurricanes had a 22-9 record, according to Liberty Athletics. Wills was also the first coach in the program’s history to lead the team to three postseason tournaments. Tulsa’s run in the postseason included an appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship semifinals.  

When White received the head coach position at Liberty, a mutual friend who was coaching at Tulane University reached out to Wills, knowing that White was eager to offer him the position.   

After receiving the call, the Wills family found themselves on their way to Lynchburg ready to embrace a new chapter in their lives.  

“It happened really fast,” Wills said. “In the last month before that, my wife and I had gotten to the point that we were ready to move from Tulsa and ready for a new adventure.”  

Despite never visiting Lynchburg and knowing little about the area, Wills and Evyn made the bold decision to relocate.  

“We took a leap of faith and said let’s go for it,” Wills said.  

When he arrived, White took Wills to the Freedom Tower to watch the sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains, and he was awestruck. He knew it was a special place from that moment on.  

Since joining Liberty volleyball, Wills has noticed a distinct difference in the atmosphere that sets Liberty apart from the secular schools he has coached at. 

“There’s definitely a strive for excellence that I think aligns not only from a competitive perspective but also from a faith perspective,” Wills said. “It all kind of narrows into one alignment, which is really cool for me to be a part of.” 

Wills has a strong vision for the future of Liberty volleyball, and one of his key goals is to further the development of the program’s brand. He hopes to recruit at the national level, bringing in more players to see how special Liberty is, just as he saw it on his first day at the Freedom Tower.  

Clardy is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. 

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