Athlete of the Week: Hunter leading CdM Sea Kings
School let out at Corona del Mar High at 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, and Will Hunter couldn’t wait to get home to find out the big news.
The form of news wasn’t the kind Hunter could access through social media. This news came in the mail, a university acceptance or denial letter.
Hunter is a standout in the classroom. He said he carries a 3.9 grade-point average, and schools like New York University, UC San Diego and Ohio State have accepted the senior, not only for school, but to play on their respective men’s volleyball teams.
Hunter doesn’t see himself playing volleyball on the next level. He plans to focus on academics, studying business, something to do with sports.
He’s talented enough to do both, study and play sports.
At the Orange County Championships, Hunter showed he’s one of the best players around. The 6-foot-3 middle blocker led the Sea Kings to a 25-20, 19-25, 15-9 win against Los Alamitos in the Orange County Championships Division 1 final at Edison High on Monday.
After losing in the tournament title match three times in the past four years, the Sea Kings finally claimed the three-day event. They pulled if off, despite not having star setter Matt Ctvrtlik, who sat out with an ankle injury.
Two other setters, Patrick Paragas and Shane Gooding, filled in for the Harvard-bound Ctvrtlik, and they knew to distribute the ball to Hunter. He delivered, totaling 50 kills, 10 block assists, four digs, two solo blocks and two service aces during the five matches to earn the tournament MVP honor.
Hunter saved his best performance for the finale, finishing with a match-high 14 kills, to go with two block assists, one dig and one ace. While Hunter and the Sea Kings came through in the championship, they wanted to see Huntington Beach, the program that denied them the crown the last two years.
The Oilers skipped the OC Championships, which came a week after they won the Best of the West Invitational for the third straight year.
No team has been able to figure out how to knock off the Oilers, who have won 121 matches in a row, a national record. Hunter said winning the OC Championships without having to go through Huntington Beach didn’t take anything away from the Sea Kings’ accomplishment.
“Of course you always want to see like the best challengers there, so seeing Huntington would’ve been good [competition],” Hunter said. “But at the end, it’s still [the] OC [Championships] and it’s still like a great win.”
Hunter hopes to see the Oilers in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. They met a year ago in the finals, and the Sea Kings went the distance with Huntington Beach, before the Oilers repeated as champions.
The postseason isn’t until May, so right now Hunter keeps his focus on Pacific Coast League play and an upcoming trip to Hawaii. The Sea Kings have begun league play 2-0, sweeping University on Wednesday and Woodbridge on Thursday.
There is one more league match left, at home against Beckman next Thursday, before Hunter and the Sea Kings travel to participate in the Clash of the Titans at Punahou High in Honolulu. The event takes place April 7-9, and on the first day CdM (12-4 overall), ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll, faces No. 2 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa. The next day, the Sea Kings meet Punahou, before seeing Honolulu Kamehameha.
Hunter is looking forward to competing, bonding and relaxing with his teammates in Hawaii. He hasn’t had much of a break since he played for the CdM boys’ soccer team in the winter, leading it to a league title.
“The thing about soccer is it builds your stamina up,” Hunter said. “Coming back to volleyball, the one thing I wasn’t used to as much would be jumping a lot. That was kind of hard to get used to. I remember the first couple of days my legs were dead after practice.”
In soccer, Hunter played center back and he was the Sea Kings’ last line of defense. As a middle blocker in volleyball, he’s the first line of defense.
Steve Conti, who’s in his 21st season at the helm of CdM, is glad to have someone like Hunter on his side.
“He had a really good junior year last year, and by the end of it, he was incredibly effective, hit it for a high percentage and he led us in blocks,” Conti said. “He’s a guy that comes in every single day and he works. He’s the example of what we want in every kid in our program.”
Conti said he believes Hunter can play in college. Hunter has a big decision to make off the court in regards to his future.
The letter that he couldn’t wait to open on Thursday was from USC. Five days earlier, he learned that UCLA accepted him.
USC also wants Hunter.
“I’m still not 100% sure [where I will go for college],” said Hunter, adding that he grew up rooting for USC, UCLA’s archrival. “I hope to make my decision before spring break.”
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Will Hunter
Born: Nov. 24, 1997
Hometown: Newport Beach
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 195 pounds
Sport: Volleyball
Year: Senior
Coach: Steve Conti
Favorite food: Spicy Buffalo wings
Favorite movie: “The Good and the Bad Ugly”
Favorite athletic moment: “Last year’s [CIF Southern Section Division 1] semifinal match at Loyola, and winning that.”
Week in review: Hunter totaled 50 kills, 10 block assists, four digs, two solo blocks and two service aces during the Orange County Championships, where he earned tournament MVP honors for leading the Sea Kings to the title.
