Crystal Hudson to Compete on USA Women?s A2 Team
3/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA ?? Just months after finishing her junior year at the NCAA Volleyball Tournament in Austin, Texas., Alabama senior Crystal Hudson will be returning to the capital of the Lone Star State after being selected to compete on the 2007 USA Women’s A2 Team as a middle blocker.
The team, which is part of USA Volleyball, will be competing in the US National Championships in Austin, May 26-29.
“It’s kind of mind-blowing because I think about when I first started, being recruited, and I wasn’t even recruited in volleyball. You go from not wanted by anybody to wanted by one school, to being on a national training team,” Hudson said. “I’ve had a lot of help in between and a lot of people have believed in me, and that’s the most important part. I never thought I’d get to this point in my life.”
Hudson, along with four of her Alabama teammates, traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., in February to try out, where she was told that six of the girls present would be chosen to train with the US Olympic volleyball team, and 20 would make the A2 team, which will be split into two teams of 10 once competition starts.
The tryout process, Hudson said, was made much more comfortable by the fact that so many of her Alabama teammates were present, as well as players she knew from other SEC schools.
“It was exciting because a lot of girls were there by themselves, and there were five of us from here,” she said. “It felt comfortable because of the girls I knew, and I forced myself to make knew friends so it would be easier for me to communicate with them.”
The tryout process began with a one-day evaluation period, testing the players for speed and agility, then turned into what Hudson called a two-day “boot camp,” where the players were worked almost nonstop.
Hudson was notified that she made the team via e-mail, yet says that she almost didn’t pay attention to what it actually said when she received it.
“I was sitting in my room talking to [Alabama teammate] Brooks [Webster] getting ready for spring break and I checked my e-mail and the way it started off it didn’t seem like I made the team,” she said. “It was like, ??Thanks for trying out,’, but I read down and saw that I had made the team and we just started screaming and she gave me a hug. I called my mom and coach [Judy] Green called me. Then everybody knew.”
Hudson will arrive in Austin May 21 for a five-day training period before competition begins May 26. Coaches for the team are Jim Stone (Ohio State, Paula Weishoff (Concordia University), Matt McShane (California), and Robyn Romansky (Texas A&M).
“I think it is just a super thing for Crystal as an individual player,” coach Green said. “She is someone that is very special to our program and her accomplishments positively affect everyone who is a part of it. She has dedicated herself to being the best volleyball player she can be.
“The great thing about this is that she continues to play volleyball longer than just the academic year and the opportunity to play against very good players, which should help her continue to raise her level of play.”
