Hodson commits to Stanford

Corona del Mar High junior Hayley Hodson has verbally committed to Stanford University for women’s volleyball, she announced Friday via Twitter.

Hodson, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, was the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year last year for the Sea Kings. She finished with 407 kills and a .356 hitting percentage, helping CdM win the Pacific Coast League and advance to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoffs. Hodson earned league MVP and first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA honors.

Hodson was heavily recruited by many top Division 1 colleges. Her mother, Sonya, said UCLA, Washington, Texas, Minnesota and Pepperdine were among the other schools that Hayley was considering.

“For her, I think [Stanford] was the best fit, academically and athletically,” Sonya Hodson said. “She’s as serious a student as she is an athlete.”

Hayley Hodson was not immediately available for comment Saturday night. She is in Dallas this weekend for the Lone Star Classic, a Junior Nationals qualifier with her club team, Tstreet.

Sonya Hodson said Hayley found out that she had made it through the Stanford admissions process on Friday.

Hayley competed with Team USA at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Under-23 Championships in Mexico last October, and has continued training with the U.S. national team and Coach Karch Kiraly through the winter.

At Stanford, she will be reunited with two former CdM teammates, setter Kelsey Humphreys and outside hitter Grace Kennedy. Outside hitter Morgan Boukather is another CdM alumna playing for the Cardinal, who finished the 2013 season 27-6, a match shy of the Final Four.

— Matt Szabo