Seventh grade Krysteena Davis had dreams of playing a college sport. Little did that seventh grader know in a short six years she would be embarking on her collegiate journey while playing on a Division I volleyball team and proudly calling herself a Golden Grizzly.

Davis is a junior at Oakland University studying wellness, health promotion and injury prevention with a concentration in holistic medicine. She chose WHP because of her love for helping others ever since she was a little girl. Her passion for holistic medicine came around after she read a story about a man beating cancer by putting himself on a strict diet with no medications.

When Davis was little, she would watch her mom play beach volleyball and believes that is when her passion for the game first struck. The athleticism gene runs strong in the Davis family, as her dad played basketball at Calvin College and earned the title of All-American.

Oakland was Davis’ first college visit. Although she did explore other options afterward, she was not impressed. Oakland had stolen her heart upon first sight and she is still happy with her choice four years later.

“I explored other options but I ultimately loved the coaching staff and the program’s culture at Oakland the most,” Davis said. “The first game I went to the entire Oakland swim team arrived to cheer them on along with multiple other sports and I loved that. The support system that athletes at Oakland give to other athletes was not something I saw at any other college I visited.”

Sneaking up on her 10th anniversary with her one true love, volleyball, Davis has played one and only one position her entire life: middle hitter.

“I love being a middle because speed has always been my strength and it allows me to utilize it,” said Davis.

What Davis is mostly fond of is the influential coaches she has crossed paths with during her time at Oakland. Davis explained that head coach Rob Beam’s coaching style was one of the main factors in choosing Oakland.

“He is tough when he needs to be but he also cares more than any coach I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing for,” said Davis. “He makes you want to be a better player.”

Giving credit to assistant coach Eric Lindstrom as well, Davis believes that if it were not for him, she would not be half the player she is today.

“He works with the middles and has an extremely high volleyball IQ,” said Davis. “He’s also good for a laugh when you need one.”

Davis was recently awarded the Horizon League defensive player of the week for her blocking, which is one of her favorite achievements in volleyball thus far.

“Oakland’s Volleyball program has grown so much since I started the recruiting process,” Davis said. “The players before me set a great foundation, I just hope I can build off of that for future Golden Grizzlies.”

When preparing herself to play at the collegiate level, she received doubt from many of her coaches. Putting that on the back-burner, she continued to work just as hard, if not harder, and because of that, she is living out her dream of playing volleyball at a collegiate level.

“Throughout the recruiting process I was told over and over that I wasn’t tall enough and that I wouldn’t play Division I volleyball,” Davis said. “Being currently ranked seventh in the nation in total blocks is me making a statement to all of those coaches that didn’t believe I could do it.”

Her season goal is to win another Horizon League championship and send the seniors on the team out on a high note.

Krysteena Picks & Chooses:

1. Cake or ice cream? Ice cream
2. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
3. Hocus Pocus or Halloween Town? Halloween Town
4. Summer or winter? Summer
5. Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi
6. Team Edward or Team Jacob? Team Edward
7. Bridesmaids or 21 Jump Street? 21 Jump Street
8. Country music or Hip-Hop? Hip-Hop