To the untrained eye, it appears as though someone replaced Chris Couch’s arm with a rocket launcher.
Compared to his fellow high school hitters, he’s a rung above — figuratively and literally, skying up the net. The power surging from his right shoulder down to his fingertips, harnessed into kill after kill for Bel Air boys volleyball, could spark a generator.
Having only picked up the sport as an eighth grader, Couch, the Aegis 2023 boys volleyball Player of the Year now signed to play at Penn State, hasn’t always dominated to that extent.
“When I came in my sophomore year, I had no idea what I was doing,” he said. “I knew the basics but I wasn’t consistent with anything. My passing sucked and I didn’t hit the ball very hard. I was also really shy.”
It was Couch’s father, also named Chris, and sister, Lexi, who guided Couch to volleyball, the youngest getting his start in a middle school rec league. Dad helps coach the Bobcats girls team, where his sister played before graduating to Eastern University.
Couch was then still focused on basketball, growing from 5-foot-5 to 6-foot the summer before seventh grade. Summer heading into his freshman year, he extended to 6-4. He’s now a towering 6-6 — a clear advantage for any high school outside hitter.
But, despite physical attributes and a family connection, there was once some reluctance to pick up the sport. “Honestly, I thought volleyball was kind of a stupid sport at the time,” he said.
That misguided perspective washed away the first time Couch’s feet touched the hardwood.
He was drawn to the divergence from basketball’s sometimes isolated nature. As a late middle schooler, Couch saw basketball as an overly ball-dominant sport. His appreciation for volleyball grew as he learned the nuances of what he called, “the most unselfish sport ever.”
Bel Air boys coach Larry Tsomos unraveled that point a bit further.
“I can bring the best professional soccer player on the field,” Tsomos said. “Chances are he can dribble past all 10 players and score. I can bring the best NBA player and there’s a good probability they can plow through the defense and dunk.
“I can bring the best volleyball player onto the court and it’s possible if he doesn’t have five support players around him, he may never score a single point. It’s the nature of volleyball that you cannot take the ball coast to coast and score.”
The county’s top boys volleyball player, a menacing scorer, is first to admit that holding Bel Air’s record for first (245, junior season), second (233, senior) and third (215, sophomore) most kills in a single season surely wasn’t the job of a lone wolf.
He’s a visual learner. Oftentimes his sister could show him something that Couch could turn around and replicate. His dad, Couch said, was more there to critique and refine Lexi’s foundational teachings.
Bel Air coach Dave Simon then helped train Couch during the pandemic utilizing a nearby outdoor beach court in Forest Hill to pore over the main tenets of volleyball: hitting, passing and setting.
That was during Couch’s freshman year, a high school volleyball season lost to COVID. Tsomos knew, even then, he wanted Couch on his team.
“I was kind of his project player,” Couch said.
Tsomos guided Couch’s above-the-rim power from when he was an underclassmen struggling with his timing and approach. Bel Air’s longtime coach would pull him aside in or after practice to work through the technical side of what would become his most glaring strength.
Although there’s more to him than just being a power hitter.
“Everybody has their moments of, if not giving up, being disappointed at the moment,” Tsomos said. “I never saw that in Chris. At the worst moments of the last three years, he’d only get, if I can say, kindly angry.”
Take Bel Air’s Harford County championship match against Harford Tech, for example.
The Bobcats fell behind, 2-1. Couch never waivered. He lifted up the guys around him – the ones who have helped him reach such lofty heights. He celebrated every teammate’s point or saved ball as if it were his own. And he was integral in Bel Air storming back to a five-set title defense.
For Tsomos, is there a moment — game, practice or elsewhere — that sticks out from the last three seasons? One that embodies what Couch has meant to the program?
“I can’t say there was a moment that was better than others,” Tsomos said. “The guy was awesome all the time. … [His career] was a series of uncountable, awesome, high-achieving moments.”
All-Aegis first team
Saxon Fuller, Harford Tech, junior, hitter
Fuller’s 150-plus kills this fall more than doubled the kill total of any of his Cobras teammates, helping Harford Tech reach the Harford County championship round.
Brody Hichkad, C. Milton Wright, sophomore, hitter
Hichkad was a key cog for the Mustangs as an underclassman totaling 143 kills with hitting efficiency of .230.
Jackson Killough, Fallston, senior, hitter
Fallston coach Bill Stewart dubbed Killough one of the best players to come through the program, finishing his senior campaign with 194 kills, 17 blocks and 14 aces.
Luca Santoro, John Carroll, junior, hitter
The top Patriots hitter had 165 kills in 15 games, 19 block assists and 32 aces on the season.
Jordan Bogarty, North Harford, sophomore, middle blocker
Bogarty led the Hawks in kills (100) and blocks (31) while contributing 27 digs.
Justin Eckman, C. Milton Wright, senior, middle blocker
Eckamn’s 88 kills with a .320 hitting efficiency made him a force for the Mustangs.
Tom Silver, Bel Air, senior, setter
Silver was the half of the county’s top duo. He tied a bow on his final season with 439 assists, 59 kills, 36 aces and 16.5 blocks for a championship Bobcats team.
Graham Sporney, John Carroll, senior, setter
John Carroll’s senior setter led the county in assists with 486 in 14 matches, adding 35 aces. That’s an average of 27 assists and a pair of aces on a given night for a burgeoning Patriots team.
Zach Brown, C. Milton Wright, senior, libero
The Mustangs senior libero finished with 112 digs and received praise from coaches around the county as one of the toughest opposing liberos.
Sam Thomas, Harford Tech, junior, libero
Thomas spent time at both libero and defensive specialist stepping in at key times to receive complicated serves with a very strong save percentage, according to his coach. Thomas helped Harford Tech earn a spot in the county championship.
Spencer Schulze, Bel Air, senior, defensive specialist
Bel Air’s force in the middle finished with 20 aces, 15 kills, 2.5 blocks, 60 assists and a plethora of digs helping the Bobcats repeat as county champions.
Second team:
Jaden Riley, John Carroll, junior, hitter
Jackson Armiger, North Harford, junior, hitter
Javier de Gordon, Patterson Mill, senior, hitter
Will Harbaugh, Bel Air, senior, hitter
Jake DiSciorio, Fallston, senior, middle blocker
Nick Scopelliti, Havre de Grace, senior, middle blocker
Michael DeJesus Jr., North Harford, junior, defensive specialist
Jensen Graf, Harford Tech, senior, setter
Shawn Thomas, C. Milton Wright, senior, setter
Wyatt Leach, John Carroll, senior, libero
