Badgers volleyball crew thrilled Devyn Robinson modified sports activities | Faculty volleyball

Underwater rookie Devyn Robinson had 16 kills in the season opener in Purdue last month.

JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVE

DENNIS PUNZEL For the State Journal

Devyn Robinson grew up in a basketball home and always had big dreams.

“When I was younger, I played basketball all the time because my dad did it, so I wanted to do it,” said Robinson. “I was so focused on basketball that I really believed I would go to the WNBA and play basketball all my life.”

But when she was in third grade, her athletic bow made a slight course correction.

Her father Daniyal, then an assistant coach to the University of Houston men’s basketball team, decided to broaden her horizons by taking her to an on-campus volleyball clinic. If not kicking and shouting, young Devyn wasn’t exactly a keen participant.

“I thought I don’t want this, I’m not interested,” she recalled. “I remember the whole camp where I crossed my arms like I didn’t want to be there.

“But towards the end there was this one ball that was just about to hit the ground and I thought it was going to fall to the ground and no one was going to strive for it. I remember diving after that and injuring my hip in the process, but I pulled the ball up and I thought it was amazing. I want to do this all the time. So my mom signed me up for volleyball and I’ve been playing it ever since. “