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Darion Graham, a senior outside hitter who will play collegiately at Warner University, posted remarkable numbers during the 2023 campaign. PHOTO/J. DANIEL PEARSON
The numbers tell the story.
Celebration went 7-0 in matches against county opposition, while not losing a set (23-0) in the process. In addition to sweeping their way to the Orange Belt Conference championship, they won both district and regional crowns before narrowing losing in the first round of the state tournament to powerhouse Winter Park (21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 22-25, 12-15). In short, they were simply the best team in the county.
So it should come as no surprise that the Storm, who finished the season with 20 wins despite playing an extremely difficult schedule that included eight different teams that advanced to regionals, dominated the All-County boys volleyball team or that its best player, Darion Graham, is the Osceola News-Gazette Boys Volleyball Player of the Year.
Graham, a senior outside hitter who will play collegiately at Warner University, posted remarkable numbers during the 2023 campaign, leading the state with 511 kills, a mark ranking 19th nationally. He seldom made hitting errors, recording a kill percentage of .417 (think batting average) and possessed a massive serve (63 aces). When on the back row, he was an efficient defensive player with 238 digs.
“Darion has always been a special player, but he really blossomed as a team leader this past year,” said Celebration Coach Pedro Davila, who is also the Coach of the Year selection. “At the end of the season we were having some injury issues that resulted in Darion having to assume an even bigger role in our offense. He took our offense on his back and carried us through the regional tournament.”
The Storm place five members on the All-County team: Graham, senior middle blocker Victor Binet, senior libero Keith Harrison, junior outside hitter Diego Rivera and sophomore setter Oliver Binet.
Victor Binet – who will remain a teammate of Graham at Warner— recorded 159 blocks, the second most in the state. Davila believes Harrison, who signed with Central State, was one of the best, if not the best Libero in the state. Harrison had 607 digs this season, which was tops in the state and ranked him top 10 in the nation. Sophomore Oliver Binet (983) nearly reached 1,000 assists in a single season, while Rivera – a junior – posted 119 kills.
Tohopekaliga (17-10) had a fine season with a second place finish at OBC and districts and earned an at-large bid to regionals. The Tigers’ outside hitter Eliel Salva, setter Elijah Foster and middle blocker Javon Andrew-Brown are All-County teamers. A two-year starter and team captain, Salva led the Tigers with 297 kills and a 47.3% kill percentage this season. Foster averaged 7/8 assists per set with 640 total; while Andrew-Brown – a multi-sport standout for the Tigers who most likely will participate in track at Florida A&M– had 139 kills and 84 blocks while protecting the middle.
St. Cloud senior Skyler Tutor (193 kills, 21 blocks, 33 aces) and junior Will Stuphen (235 kills, 130 digs) earned an honor, as well as Gateway junior Christian Ross, Harmony’s Sylus Cory and Poinciana’s Esteban Paneto. Ross recorded 120 kills and 20 aces for the Panthers; Cory had 179 kills for the Longhorns and Paneto had 249 kills and 62 aces for the Eagles.
