March 12, 2020 – By NJP

Senior Nick Poulson has been preparing for his senior year since joining the varsity squad at Kingsway as a sophomore. The 6′ 4″ middle has been fine tuning his game as the club level for SJVBC Elite and is more than ready to help the Dragons seek an Olympic Division title.

Setter Ronan Harkins and Hitter Rob Thomas are gone from last years squad that produced a 17-16 overall record but Poulson and Carter Tran will now be major pieces of the Dragons attack for the 2020 season. Poulson racked up 155 kills as a junior and contributed a whopping 49 blocks finishing 10th in the state in that category.

Poulson’s numbers puts him in the 95% quartile score for overall play of this years player pool. Along with Tran and senior Matt Lunsk, the Dragons have a solid core and knowing the volleyball tradition at Kingsway, they will have some top players coming up through the ranks. They earn a top 50 NJP ranking and have some great upside in an Olympic division where Clearview and Washington Township are the clear targets to beat.

Here is our interview with Nick…

Hi Nick… can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a senior at Kingsway Regional High School. I live with my mom and my sister Rebecca in the middle of South Harrison. We have a little farm with a bunch of chickens and pigs that we use for our eggs and pork. 

How long have you played volleyball and what inspired you to take up volleyball initially?

I have been playing volleyball since my freshman year of high school but didn’t join a club team until my junior year. I played for SJVBC as their starting middle for 17 Elites and 18 Elites. My initial volleyball inspiration was my grandfather. He passed away the summer coming into high school. He played beach volleyball since he was a little kid and I wanted to try and be like him. 

What are your metrics/details? Height, vertical, position, club team, etc… What’s your favorite position to play? 

I am 6’4, 180. My vertical is somewhere between 28-30 inches. I have been a middle hitter my whole volleyball career but I have always wanted to be a setter ever since I played with Chris Morehead. My favorite position to play is libero though. I love the feeling of digging a ball that seemed like an automatic kill and point for the other team.  

Which player last season was the toughest competitor that you faced and why?

During last year’s school season, the middle from Washington Twp was my hardest competition. When we played them during the conference championship, we went at each other all game. Other than that, I didn’t feel like there were any other players that could stop my team and I.

How will your high school team do in the upcoming season? Do you have a lot of returning players? What will be the key to success?

I think that Kingsway will do very well this season. I don’t think we will lose to anybody in our conference. Elijah, Carter, Matt and I are the returning seniors this year. Our setter is a junior that has a lot of potential and can hang with some of the better setters this year. Our key this year is to learn how to play together. Since most of us are seniors, we have to learn how to lead a team. 

Who is your support group?

Both of my parents are big supporters in my volleyball career

Which schools are your biggest rivals?

Clearview is Kingsways biggest rival for all of the sports. But for volleyball, Williamstown is probably our biggest rival since I’ve been playing at Kingsway. Most of the players on Williamstown have been playing club with me since I’ve started playing club so a natural rivalry arose.  

Who is your favorite teammate and why?

My favorite teammate and best friend is Carter Tran. He and I became friends freshman year and we both decided to play volleyball because of gym class. Last summer I moved into his neighborhood and we would go play beach volleyball all day everyday during the summer.