All-Tidewater boys volleyball, 2011-2012

By Ray Nimmo

VIRGINIA BEACH

Ocean Lakes outside hitter Cameron Hudson could’ve taken a me-first approach.

He didn’t.

He could’ve regressed on a team with fewer star players.

He excelled.

Hudson set school records for kills in a match (47) and kills in a season (310) in leading the Dolphins to a Beach District semifinal appearance, where they pushed this year’s state runner-up Cox to four sets.

Hudson, the 2011 All-Tidewater Player of the Year, took time to teach underclassmen about the game and act as a second coach on the floor. “He’s been our heart and soul,” Dolphins coach Heath Boomer said. “Not only has he performed at the highest of levels but as a teammate teaching the younger guys and encouraging them, taking them to a higher level.”

Ocean Lakes graduated five starters from last year’s Group AAA state runner-up team so it was supposed to be a rebulding year. But the Dolphins gave opponents all they could handle, taking district regular-season champ First Colonial to five sets twice, edging Princess Anne in five sets twice and battling Cox close in the playoff match.

“With what we had, we did exactly what we could do,” Hudson said, “which was make every game competitive for everybody else.” Hudson, an inquisitive junior last year with so many seniors to look up to, found himself being drilled with questions this year from teammates. It was a role he’d never been in.

“I wasn’t very good at it in the beginning,” Hudson said. “I assumed they knew most of the stuff so I lost my temper sometimes. But at the end of it, I really liked it.”

Boomer calls Hudson “the most physically-gifted athlete I’ve ever coached.” With a booming jump serve and improved passing and defense, Hudson played in every rotation. Most matches he played outside, but if the team needed it, he moved to a middle blocker position. “He’s a very unselfish kid,” Boomer said. “We put a lot of pressure on him this year. He understood the situation and embraced it.”

Ray Nimmo, 757-446-2364 or ray.nimmo@pilotonline.com

ALL-TIDEWATER BOYS VOLLEYBALL FIRST TEAM

Cameron Hudson, Ocean Lakes

6-foot-3 senior outside hitter Eastern Region and Beach District player of the year Set school records in kills in a match (47) and season (310)

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  Michael Albis, Cox

5-foot-8 junior libero First-team All-Eastern Region and All-Beach District Recorded over 150 digs and committed only four serve errors in 174 attempts “Quickest, smartest, most consistent serving libero in the area,” Falcons coach Jason Zuidema said.

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Travis Graven, Great Bridge

6-foot-3 senior outside hitter First-team All-Southeastern District and second-team All-Eastern Region Tallied 224 kills, 192 digs and 62 aces “Whenever we were in a close game and needed a kill, we knew we could count on Travis to get it for us,” Wildcats coach Michael Saltzer said.

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Drew Grehan, Cox

6-foot-5 senior middle blocker First-team All-Eastern Region and All-Beach District Notched 125 kills, 44 blocks and had a .393 hitting percentage “He is the most consistent, biggest threat out of the middle around,” Zuidema said. Signed with St. Francis (Pa.)

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Curtis Stallings, Grassfield

6-foot-5 junior setter Southeastern District player of the year and first-team Eastern Region Delivered 538 assists and 66 kills Led the Grizzlies to a 22-5 overall record, 16-2 district record and the Eastern Region semifinals

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Chase Tolison, First Colonial

5-foot-11 senior outside hitter First-team All-Beach District and second-team All-Eastern Region Provided 288 kills, 64 blocks and 98 digs “Still one of the most dominant outsides in the region,” Patriots coach Gary Hodges said.

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Mason Walker, First Colonial

6-foot-3 senior outside hitter First-team All-Eastern Region and All-Beach District Recorded a team-high 297 kills along with 57 blocks and 41 digs “Our go-to guy,” Hodges said.

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Second team

Doug Bratke, senior outside hitter, Salem

Ace Ermlich, junior opposite hitter, Cox

Eric Larsson, senior setter, First Colonial

Sean Peterson, junior outside hitter, Norfolk Collegiate

Connor Robinson, senior outside hitter, Maury

Joe Rogers, junior setter, Great Bridge

Graeme Wren, senior setter, Cape Henry