Cub grad Meyer helps COA to runnerup finish

Greencastle graduate Maggie Meyer poses with her COA 18 Red team's national runnerup trophy.

Contributed photo

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Crossroads of America volleyball program based in Terre Haute sent eight teams to the Amateur Athletic Union junior national volleyball tournament last week.

Five of those teams contained Putnam County players, including the COA 18 Red team that placed second in the nation in the club division.

Greencastle graduate Maggie Meyer was a member of th 18 Red team, which lost in the finals to the Southwest Minnesota Volleyball Club.

COA won the first set of the best-of-three match by a 25-23 score, but the Minnesota team came back to win the second set 25-16 and the third by a 15-10 score.

The COA squad won its first nine matches to reach the final round, defeating Tribe 17 Elite from Florida, Georgia Adrenaline Volleyball Club, VC United 182 Elite from Illinois, Top Gun 18 from Michigan, Dig This VBC from Nevada (twice), Balance 18 from Illinois, The Academy 17 Elite Tsunami from Indiana and GSJ 18 National from South Carolina

COA defeated fellow Indiana rival Circle City 25-23 and 25-14 in the quarterfinal round, then beat Chicago Elite 25-14 and 25-17 in the semifinals.

While many teams like Circle City are formed statewide, the COA 18 Red team consisted of six other players from Western Indiana Conference schools, plus two from Terre Haute North and one each from Covington and Rockville.

All five team members who graduated this spring are bound to play in college. Meyer will play collegiately at Marian, while Sera Little of Northview is a DePauw recruit.

Others moving on are Morgan Weir of West Vigo (IU-Kokomo), Olivia Lundy of Northview (West Virginia Wesleyan) and Lexi Netherlain of Sullivan (Missouri S&T).

Other COA teams with Putnam County players were:

Several Putnam County athletes competed in the AAU Nationals at Orlando, Fla., last week. Three county players were on the COA 18 White team, which placed 40th in the nation in the classic division — Cloverdale’s Hannah Rady (No. 3 in front row) and Kenzie Stoltz (No. 5 in front row) and Greencastle’s Jada Amis (No. 11 in back row).

Contributed photo

• 18 White — Finished 40th overall in classic division. Team members included Greencastle’s Jada Amis and Cloverdale’s Hannah Rady and Kenzie Stoltz.

• 14 White — Finished 115th in the classic division. Team members included Juliette Tomamichel and Hannah Winters of Greencastle.

• 14 Red — Finished 74th in club division. Team members included Anna Zellers of Greencastle.

• 16 White — Team began play on Monday, going 1-2. Has three more matches today. Team members include Lilly Meyer of Greencastle.

Also competing was Elle Patterson of Greencastle, who was a member of the Boiler Juniors 14-1 squad that finished 16th in the 14 open division.