Hollis Brookline's Jameson Evelyn (11) along with Tyler Wu, left and Sam Hersey celebrate a big point in the final set of the Cavs' 3-1 volleyball win over local rival Souhegan Friday in Hollis. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

HOLLIS – Boom!

That’s the sound many of the hits of Hollis Brookline senior volleyball player Ethan Norris sound like.

Norris, who became the program’s all-time digs leader, is a player who can make a difference for the Cavs, who topped Souhegan 3-1 on Friday in a rematch of last spring’s state finals.

“He’s really a lot of fun to coach,” Cavs head coach Jake Balfour said. “He contributes a lot not just with his knowledge of the game but with his leadership to bring the team together, and settle it down. A lot of the things you want to see him do. We’re proud to have him.”

Last night Norris had 16 kills, five aces and 20 digs, giving him 438 for his career and passing by Jonathan Brackett as HB’s new career leader. He also leads the program with 129 aces all-time.

He’s even more valuable this year, because, you see, it’s a different year for both the Cavs and the Sabers. Norris is the lone starter back from last year’s three-time defending champions, but there’s still plenty of talent on the Cavs. The architect of the dynasty, Ed Leonard, retired at the end of last season and handed the reins to Balfour.

“Honestly, I think this is a real good year to show us how much we can improve in one year,” Norris, who will play for Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. next spring, said. “We didn’t start with much athleticism, but we can catch up in a technical way. … We’re super comfortable and super close.”

For Souhegan, it’s a year of growth, as there are just two upperclassmen on the team. One, Everett Boyer, led the Sabers with 18 kills. And the other, Wes Davis, also made his presence felt with 22 assists.

“A lot of sophomores and freshmen,” Sabers coach Carla Boyer said. “What did it for us (in this match) was the passing; those that are passing other than Everett are young, not solid passing. “Everett is definitely our Ethan Norris, but when our passing out of serve receive is not as solid, it’s hard to get anything going. It’s just stuff to work on that we’ll be better throughout the season. We knew that coming in tonight.”

In fact, the Sabers had to be encouraged when they grabbed an extremely close first set, 29-27. But then the Cavs’ experience took over, as they took the next three, 25-20, 25-18 and 25-14.

Hollis Brookline’s Ethan Norris, center, fires a return at Souhegan’s Michael Howell (3) tries to block during Friday night’s match at Hollis. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

In addition to what Norris did, James Kelley had six kills and Sam Hersey added 30 assists. Sabers Max Ferguson and Sean Cheney combined for five aces.

It was Souhegan’s opener while the Cavs are now 2-0. Things could have been different if HB didn’t respond after that close first set loss.

“We had a bit of the nerves in the beginning,” Balfour said. “That’s normal. It’s also normal when you change over a lot of people. I thought they handled it very well, they settled down. It was an important game, they wanted to do their best and it just took them a little longer.”

Growing pains, but not a painful as taking a Norris kill on the body, for sure.