Nicklin Hames, Webb volleyball looking for fifth straight state title

Setter/outside hitter Nicklin Hames is the leader among a core group of three Webb seniors who are looking for their fifth straight Division II-A state volleyball title.

Author Malcolm Gladwell suggests you need 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert at anything. Well, no one is counting, but Nicklin Hames must be around there.

The Webb setter/outside hitter has been playing volleyball just about her whole life. Her mother and coach Chris Hames started peppering (hitting a ball back and forth) with her at age 4. Nicklin has grown up at the gym.

“You talk about 10,000 hours to be an expert and she’s played more volleyball than most 17-year-olds,” Chris said. “Her volleyball IQ is incredible.”

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Nicklin is the leader among a core group of three seniors who are looking for their fifth straight Division II-A state volleyball title, after earning a spot in Thursday’s final with a win over Goodpasture. They will play Harding Academy at 9 a.m. at MTSU.

Webb setter/outside hitter Nicklin Hames has committed to Nebraska, one of the top volleyball programs in the country.

The Hameses have turned around Webb volleyball. Chris started coaching six years ago and brought the team to the state final. The next year, Nicklin joined, and the Spartans won their first state championship. They haven’t lost one since then.

The Spartans didn’t have any seniors last year, so they have the same group that won last year’s championship on the floor and the same leaders. Nicklin has played on varsity since eighth grade and stepped into a leadership role early on.

From a playing standpoint, she was always going to be a leader. Nicklin was state MVP as an eighth-grader and committed to Nebraska, one of the top volleyball programs in the country, the next year. She’s rated the top setter in her class by Prep Volleyball; she was an All-American first team selection last year; and she started the season with Team USA at the U-18 world championship. 

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What Nicklin learned over her high school and K2 Volleyball Club careers was how to lead effectively.

“Everyone reacts to what you say to them differently,” she said. “Definitely over the past couple of years, I’ve learned I can say something and that saying something helps the team overall.”

Chris suggested the team might miss that leadership as much, if not more than, Nicklin’s skill. Her graduation definitely will change Webb volleyball.

The season is at its apex, but Nicklin already is looking toward Webb’s next season. She sees her sister Kayleigh, who is committed to Pepperdine, as someone who can take over that leadership role. And Nicklin thinks the freshman class, led by fellow setter Haley Jenkins, can be similar to her class.

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Nicklin also thinks some of what she learned with Team USA will help Webb continue to grow. She sees those lessons as a longer-term effect more than an immediate one.

“The girls played at a different level of intensity,” she said. “Coming back, I was like I just want to be on that level. This is what we need to work for for the rest of our volleyball careers. We need to work toward being these kind of players.”

But there’s one more task first: Thursday’s championship game. Nicklin wants to seal her legacy never having lost so much as a set in the state tournament.

Webb's Nicklin Hames, left, and her sister, Kayleigh Hames, practice Monday.