Hudson boys volleyball sweeps quad match to remain undefeated

With post season program assignments and brackets to be determined, Hudson head coach Larry Meehan is having a hard time to get a good “read” on competition.

One thing that Meehan knows is his squad is playing well.

Hudson went 3-0 in Saturday in a quad match at Mount Vernon. That effort pushed the Explorers to 10-0 overall this year.

“I was very proud of the kids’ showing and it really was a long day, but I thought we played great as a team,” said Meehan.

Hudson won 3-0 over Centerville by a score of 25-20, 25-18, 25-18, plus had a 3-0 victory over Mount Vernon 25-21, 25-22, and 25-13, and added a 3-0 win over Olentangy Berlin 3-0 with scores of 26-24, 25-15, and 25-17.

“This team has great chemistry together and we continue to have a total team effort,” said the coach.

“I think our schedule is strong, but I do know that we are stronger as a team this year even with our success (22-4 last year),” said Meehan, as of his club reached the state quarterfinals as a club in 2022.

In the win over Centerville, Hudson was paced by senior outside hitter Noah Zappone. A first-team All-Ohio pick last year, Zappone had 14 kills.

Zappone was joined by senior sidekick and outside hitter Elijah Beh – a first team All-Regional standout last year. Bey had 12 kills while Zappone registered an incredible hitting percentage of .417.

“We had some great hitting and Noah was incredible, but I thought overall, our defense was tremendous this weekend and our passing has been fantastic,” said Meehan.

Meehan pointed to the passing of Bey, senior libero Tyler Roukey, senior setter Jake Brown and Zappone.

“It is really difficult to credit just one or two guys as we have been getting contributions from everyone,” said Meehan.

In the win over Olentangy Berlin, Bey had 20 kills and a .485 hitting percentage.

“Elijah is so electric – he is such an outstanding athlete and jumps so well,” said Meehan. “He is so in sync now with Jake Brown, our setter. Jake is really only in his second full year and he has a lot of responsibilities.”

“Jake is our setter, he serves and plays strong defense and blocks very well for his size,” added Meehan. “Our serve-receive game was so excellent against Mt. Vernon.”

Roukey had 11 digs and added 14 digs with a big showing against Mt. Vernon.

“Tyler and Noah are such complete players for us and we have a lot of balance,” said Meehan.

In the win ove Berlin, Bey and Roukey were supported by senior middle blocker Kellen Gromosiak (six kills and .500 hitting percentage), Zappone (seven kills), and junior Spencer Yerkey (three aces).

For the three-game day, Zappone posted some incredible service numbers.

“Noah had 48 attempts and only one error to go with three aces,” said Meehan.

Besides Roukey’s amazing defense, Hudson had other key efforts in the win over Mount Vernon.

Bey had 13 kills, Zappone 11 kills and junior middle Luca Carvalho hit for six kills and a .417 hitting percentage.

“Luca was very efficient,” said Meehan. “He is coming along so well in his first year in the middle.”

Meehan thought his club played better than the Explorers did in their recent win at Cleveland St. Ignatius (25-17, 25-19, and 25-21).

“We played well against St. Ignatius, but I thought our defense was even better,” said Meehan.

Gromosiak was stellar in the middle against St. Ignatius with nine blocks.

Brown had 25 assists and three blocks while Bey had 16 kills, and Yerkey 11 digs. Roukey had 16 receptions and a pair of aces.

“Yerkey did a tremendous job and Kellen is very strong and his long arms are a big key – he has really embraced his role because even when he is not doing much on offense, he continues to excel on defense to his credit,” said Meehan.

“I cautioned the kids because as great as we are playing, I feel this region has more balance and strength, and we need to be ready because any quality team can beat us,” said Meehan. “I do feel like we can compete with any team in the state – we may not win every match, but we will compete."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hudson boys volleyball sweeps quad match in Mount Vernon