Travis Hudson earns third straight volleyball National Player of the Year Award

Former Wauwatosa star Travis Hudson became the first player in National Collegiate Volleyball Federation history to be named the National Player of the Year three times when awards were announced after the Division I championship match on April 11 in Louisville.

Hudson, a 6-6 setter, led the Titans to its third straight NCVF Division I title. Previously this year he was named the Wisconsin Volleyball Conference Player of the Year and a Midwest Ten Conference First-Team selection.

"Travis is the best player to have ever played collegiate club volleyball," said Schaefer. "He led a bunch of unknowns to the national title in 2014, directed us to another title in 2015 and then helped a team overcome a ton of injuries, including one he was directly dealing with to another national title this year.

"It is an honor to coach somebody with so much passion for the UW-Oshkosh volleyball program, his teammates and the sport. He deserves every accolade he receives because of his dedication to be the best in all areas of his life."

National Champions

Three Wauwatosa and one Brookfield volleyball players were members of the UW-Oshkosh men's volleyball team (56-4), which won its third consecutive National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Division I national title by going 9-0 over the course of three days (April 9-11) in Louisville, Kentucky.

With its sixth national championship, the Titans join the University of California-Berkeley with the most Division I national titles and have won 27 straight matches at the event. In a highly intense national championship match the Titans experience took over when big plays were needed for a 25-21, 22-25, 15-13 victory over No. 9 Penn State University.

With the victory the Titans remain a consistent title contender every year, finishing third or better at the national tournament 10 out of the last 12 years with titles in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and runner up finishes in 2005 and 2009.

Travis Hudson (Sr. Wauwatosa) and Devin Hudson (Fr. Wauwatosa) and Alec Redlich (Sr. Wauwatosa) were key members of the team. Nate Leitermann (Jr. Brookfield) saw his first action of the season, playing for the first time in the tournament.

"I know it meant a lot to Nate to get into a match this season," said head coach Brian Schaefer. "He has been an amazing teammate since injuring his foot in practice in January. It was a tough situation for him to watch from the sidelines, but he handled the setback the best way possible."