Player of the Week enjoys leadership responsibility

The setter-in-chief of the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy volleyball team is senior Quinby Hines, who had 129 assists over three matches last week and received 184 votes to become the Suffolk News-Herald’s Player of the Week.

Seventy of those assists came in a single match against Cape Henry in which the Lady Saints were victorious.

“We went to five (sets), so I normally get more when we go all the way to five,” she said. “Cape Henry is like our biggest rival, pretty much, and we all get really emotional and pumped up to play Cape Henry, and we always really want to beat them.”

The Lady Saints (20-2, 6-1) did so, and their status as a state title contender this year has been in no small part due to Hines’ ability to play a crucial position that is decidedly low-key.

“I get really excited when I get an occasional kill, but I like being a setter,” she said. “I don’t mind that I don’t get as much glory as some of the hitters do.”

Equally important is the mantle of leadership she has taken on as a senior on the team.

“I would say that we definitely wouldn’t be where we are without Quinby,” Lady Saints head coach Robyn Ross said. “She has really stepped into her role as the leader on the team, not only in games but also in practice. She’s the one that really keeps all the girls on track and makes it so that I don’t ever have to say anything to anybody.”

Hines admits there are difficulties involved, but she enjoys the responsibility of leadership.

“I like people looking up to me,” Hines said. “Sometimes it’s hard, because I always have to stay calm on the court, because they look to me to stay calm, because if I get upset, they’ll get upset. So I have to make sure that I keep a cool head. I like it, though. I like having that pressure.”

“She’s the one who has really, really stepped up, and I couldn’t be prouder of the player and the person that I’ve seen her become,” Ross said.

Hines, 17, first got her start in volleyball when next-door neighbor and NSA junior-junior varsity volleyball coach Beverly Nuckles introduced her to the game while Hines was in third grade.

“Then I played on her team for JJV in the seventh grade, and that’s when I started playing club and really got into it,” Hines said.

The appeal for her was simple.

“I like being part of a team, and I like winning,” she said.

Since the eighth grade, Hines has played volleyball for both NSA and a club team. She played for the Virginia Beach Volleyball Academy in eighth and ninth, the Coastal Volleyball Club in tenth, and last year she played for Coach Ross at the Nansemond Volleyball Club.

Her time playing school ball, which has also included one year on junior varsity and four years on varsity, will likely come to an end this year, however, as other goals take precedence.

“I want to go to a big school, D-1, and I don’t want to play D-1, so I’ll probably just play club,” she said.

For now, though, she hardly needs more inspiration as a senior with the Lady Saints’ season drawing to a close.

“It’s my last year, so I really want to do well, and I want our team to do well, so I will fight really hard for every point until the end of the game because I don’t get another chance,” she said.

Nominations

Following are this week’s Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week nominees:

• Zach Pauley, eighth grade forward for First Baptist Christian School’s soccer team — He continued to be a star for the Crusaders’ varsity team with four goals this week, including one against Summit Christian and a hat trick against Rock Church.
• Uriah Adams, junior quarterback for King’s Fork High School’s football team — He made crucial calls at the line of scrimmage that contributed to the win over previously undefeated Grassfield. He went 11 for 23 passing for 124 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception and ran for 63 yards and a score.
• David Gough, sophomore fullback for Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s football team — He carried the ball 22 times for 283 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of play against Greenbrier Christian.
• Zachary Super, senior quarterback for Lakeland High School’s football team — He was 12 for 17 passing for 224 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, leading an efficient offense against Great Bridge.

Vote by 7 p.m. Wednesday by sending an email with the subject “Player of the Week” to sports@suffolknewsherald.com. You can also vote on our Facebook page and on the Suffolk News-Herald homepage.

Next Sunday, we’ll feature the readers’ choice in a story on the sports page.

Spread the word.