When she was in high school, Chloe visited UVA and seriously considered her parents alma mater. She wanted a smaller school, however, and chose Wake Forest, in part because of her connection with Bill Ferguson, then the Demon Deacons head coach. But Ferguson was gone by the time Wilson arrived in Winston-Salem, N.C., and her volleyball experience at Wake was not what shed hoped.

And so, after two seasons at Wake, where she became friends with Anna Bennett, whose father is head mens basketball coach at UVA, Chloe decided to start anew elsewhere. Virginia was again an option. The Hoos had a new coach, Shannon Wells, for whom Chloe had played at a USA Volleyball event as a middle-schooler.

I really loved working with her, Chloe recalled, so I knew who she was, and she knew who I was, so that made it a little bit easier.

They set up a phone call during which Wells, a former University of Florida associate head coach, described her vision for the Cavaliers program, and Chloe decided the time was right for her to head to Charlottesville.

Her dad, I know, is so proud and Im so happy that shes there, said Kerry Wilson, who has two degrees from the University. Chloe didnt know it, but thats where her story began. Virginia is just so special to our family.

For Chloe, there are reminders of her father on Grounds, and not only the bench outside JPJ. The Cavaliers associate head coach for mens basketball, Jason Williford, was one of Shawn Wilsons college teammates.

He was a good dude, kind-hearted, Williford recalled. He didnt play a whole lot, but he was a good piece of the program. Well-liked. Funny as all outdoors.

Wilson, who was born in Murray, Ky., grew up in Nashville, and he had a catch phrase that never failed to crack up his teammates, Williford recalled. If he agreed with you on anything, hed say, He aint lyin! And it was in that Tennessee voice with that country accent. So we all would say that.

Wilson was especially close with teammates Doug Smith and Chris Havlicek. They were the Three Amigos, Williford said.

In the preseason, Williford said, Jones would send his players on two-mile runs in the morning. Players, depending on their position, had to finish in a certain time. Wilsons teammates, like his fraternity brothers, called him Big Red, and he hated running, Williford said, so he and Junior Burrough were always dead last.

After his basketball career ended, Wilson stayed in Charlottesville to do medical research (and to court his future wife), and he discovered a new athletic passion.

Id see the dude running through the Corner, through Grounds, Williford said, laughing. It was the best he ever looked. I chuckled at how he didnt enjoy running until after college. So that was crazy.

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UVA Volleyball | Wilson's Journey Leads Back to UVA - Virginia University