Tia is from Knoxville, TN. She is currently the Graduate Assistant at SMWC for both Men's and Women's volleyball. Prior to moving to Indiana, She coached high school volleyball for 2 years and club for 6 years. She played collegiately at Tennessee Wesleyan University. During her time there, she was a three year captain and was apart of a record breaking team at the university.  Tia was a setter for most of her college experience before transitioning back to a libero for her senior season. She looks forward to her time coaching the 16-Rhinos and assisting with all setters in the club. 

This is Mason’s first season coaching for COA. He recently graduated from Thomas More University where he played NCAA D1/2 volleyball. Mason played as an OH/OPP and in his last season, he helped contribute to the team’s first winning season in program history. In that season Mason had the opportunity to play against some top level teams such as Ball State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Lincoln Memorial University, University of Charleston and Daemon College. Through his time playing, Mason was a team captain for two years, the lead representative for Team IMPACT for 3 years, and won multiple leadership awards. After graduating with his Bachelors in Psychology, he got married in June to his wife Genna and live happily with their dog Winston. Since moving to Terre Haute, Mason has been helping volunteer coach for the SMWC Mens team and providing 1:1 private lessons. Outside of volleyball, he works as an RBT at Grateful Care ABA where he helps children with special needs learn to become independent. Mason wants to continue growing his coaching experience and help his players learn skills that they can take anywhere in life with them.

This will be Ali’s 10th year coaching for COA. Ali is back coaching the 18-1s team after coaching in 16s for several years.  Always coaching with passion and fire, she has led her teams to multiple GOLD finishes at AAU Nationals, with one 2nd place finish in 18 Club Division.

Ali began playing volleyball at the age of 12 for COA volleyball club, when it was known as Pacesetter Volleyball Club. Ali played four years of varsity volleyball at Terre Haute South Vigo High School under Coach Brian Payne. Ali went on to play her collegiate career at DePauw University. Ali was a four-year starter for the DePauw Tigers and earned several all-tournament and all conference awards. Ali was awarded the prestigious Tiger Pride award in her senior season. Ali obtained her degree in Communications from DePauw and has a master’s in communication and media studies from Indiana State University. Ali currently works at Old National Bank as a Private Banker. Ali has two daughters: Emma and Anaston.  Derek, Ali’s husband, serves on the COA Board of Directors.

Morgan is from Brazil, Indiana and began playing at COA when she was eight years old.  She lettered all four years at Northview High School.  During her time at Northview, the Knights won 3 Sectionals, 3 Regionals, and 1 Semi-State Championship.  Morgan made All-Conference her junior and senior year and was selected to be a member of the Indiana  South All-Star team her senior year.  Morgan then went on to play for DePauw University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. While at DePauw, Morgan was a four year starter  for the Tigers. Her sophomore year at DePauw, Morgan was recognized as All-NCAC First-Team, All-Region First-Team, and an Honorable Mention All-American. Her junior year, Morgan was named All-NCAC First-Team, as well as Sports Imports/AVCA Division III  National Player of the Week. Her senior year, she was named All-NCAC First-Team and NCAC Player of the Year, as well as AVCA Division III Third-Team All-American. Throughout her career as a Tiger, Morgan was named NCAC player of the week multiple times, and she was a captain her junior and senior year.  After graduating from DePauw, Morgan went on to graduate school at ISU where she earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree. Morgan currently works as a physical therapist at a nursing home in Brazil. 

Jen is currently in her 12th season at COA, working with multiple age groups.  Originally from Covington, IN she is also in her 11th season as the head coach at Covington High school. Jen and her husband Doug have one daughter, Alex, that currently plays at COA. Jen graduated from Indiana State University with a degree in Accounting, while also playing on the Sycamore Volleyball team. She is employed by Walgreens where she does accounting work at their corporate office.

Tia is from Knoxville, TN. She is currently the Graduate Assistant at SMWC for both Men's and Women's volleyball. Prior to moving to Indiana, She coached high school volleyball for 2 years and club for 6 years. She played collegiately at Tennessee Wesleyan University. During her time there, she was a three year captain and was apart of a record breaking team at the university.  Tia was a setter for most of my college experience before transitioning back to a libero for her senior season. She looks forward to her time coaching the 16-Rhinos and assisting with all setters in the club. 

I am from Brazil, Indiana and I began my volleyball career around 8 years old. I started playing club volleyball for Circle City in Plainfield, IN, and I played there for three years until I came to play for COA where I finished out my club career and finished 2nd at the AAU Nationals in Orlando, Florida in the 18 Club Division. I went to Northview High School where I was a four-year varsity starter as a Middle Hitter. We won 4 Sectionals, 3 Regionals, and 1 Semi-State Championship. I earned Rookie of the Year, Mental Attitude, and All-District during my time at Northview. I started my collegiate career at DePauw University where I played for two seasons as a Middle Hitter and Outside Hitter. I transferred to Indiana State University to study Speech Language Pathology, and I now play for the Women’s Club Team.

Emma Hopper is from Terre Haute and started her volleyball career in the sixth grade with Brian Payne as her head coach. She went to Terre Haute South and played as their varsity libero all four years. Emma was awarded most digs and most aces during several of her seasons at THS. Emma was also awarded the Student Council Athlete Award her senior year. She broke the record for most digs in a season her sophomore year and was awarded First Team All-Conference her senior year. Emma broke 1,000 digs the beginning of her junior year and finished her career at THS with over 1,300 digs. Emma began COA as a 6 rotation outside, and as the years progressed she became a libero/defensive specialist. She was named captain many of the years she played. Emma grew up playing softball for 6 years and played volleyball for 7 years. Emma is currently majoring in Nursing at Indiana State University and plans to enroll at The University of Tennessee after Indiana State to finish her schooling to become a Nurse Anesthetist.

This is my first-year coaching at COA. I am a current student at Saint Mary of the Woods College, majoring in Kinesiology. Once I finish my bachelor’s degree, I will continue my education by pursuing a doctorate in Physical Therapy. I was born and raised in Carolina, Puerto Rico. I began playing volleyball at the age of six and I continue playing the sport in college. I graduated from Colegio Santa Gema in 2019, where I was playing as a six-rotation right side. I helped my high school team won our school tournament and I was chosen as the MVP of the tournament. Before transferring to SMWC, I attended Ohio Valley University, an NCAA division II university in West Virginia. I was playing as a six-rotation outside during my time in OVU. I am now playing as a defense specialist in SMWC. During my first volleyball season in SMWC, I was able to set a new single season aces record. I ended my volleyball season with a total of 53 aces. 

This is Ariana's first season coaching at COA. She is currently a sophomore student-athlete at SMWC doing her Bachelor's of Science with a minor in chemistry. Once Ariana finishes her bachelor's degree, she wants to pursue medicine in the dermatology field. She currently is one of the captains at SMWC. She is a S/DS from Arecibo, Puerto Rico but her dream was always to play collegiate volleyball in the United States. Every time Ariana has a chance to go back home, she helps at volleyball summer camps as she wants to help younger players reach their volleyball and academic dreams. Ariana looks forward to coaching and helping the 16-Rhinos for the 2024-2025 season. 

My name is Aden Britt, this is my first year coaching for COA. I am currently a student and player at Saint Mary of the Woods College. I am originally from Austin, Texas where I attended Weiss High School, I was a four year varsity starter, three year captain,led the team in assists all four years as well as aces, and earned outstanding setter for 5A district my senior year. I played club ball for 8 years with max performance and finished out playing for Austin Skyline. Before moving to Terre Haute I earned my associates and played volleyball at Temple college for two years where I was a captain and broke the assist record in a three set match with 42 assist. 

I came to Terre Haute to finish my last two years of volleyball and continue my education at SMWC, I am currently a psychology major but plan to go into sports coaching/ speed and strength training after earning my degree. 

This will be my third-year coaching, but my first-year coaching at COA. I am originally from San Fransisco, California and had previously coached at a local club there. I am a current student for Saint Mary-of-the Woods college, majoring in nursing.  Once I get my bachelor's degree, I plan to get a job as a RN and continue to get my masters degree at the same time. I was born and raised in Concord, California. I began playing volleyball at the age of 14 and I still play it to this day. After high school and club, I played for a small community college in Pittsburg, California where I broke the current record of kills in a season, as well as aces. I ended that season #4 in California for kills, and #1 in aces. I currently play for Saint Mary-of-the Woods College as a pin hitter. In total, this year was my 7th year of playing.

This will be Marlee’s first season coaching at COA, she has coached previously at her old high school. Marlee is originally from Bend, Oregon but moved to Holmen, Wisconsin where she started playing volleyball at the age of 8. She played for the local college’s club team for 4 years and then for her 17s and 18s seasons she changed clubs to Elevate. Currently, Marlee attends Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where she plays as a defensive specialist on the varsity volleyball team. She is pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering, with minors in Chemistry and History, aiming to build a career in prosthetic design and rare disease research.

Matt was born into the game of volleyball in Muncie, Indiana. He was mentored from a young age, the game of volleyball, by his dad and many other coaches through the Munciana program. Matt was a big factor in starting the boys’ volleyball team at Muncie Central High School, where he played 3 years as a setter, and was voted to the All-State team in the first year and made it to the Boys State Finals the second year. Matt played numerous years in the men’s AAU program with Munciana. Matt has coached at numerous college camps and has also taken teams to participate. Matt was an assistant coach for the 12's and also a head coach in the 12's-girl’s division for Munciana. This will be Matt’s 11th year as a head coach at COA. Matt has coached 16 Blue, 14 White, 14 Red for 3 seasons,  18-White, 16 Rhinos for 2 seasons, and currently is in his 4th season coaching the 15 Gophers after a National Championship in 2024.  Matt was also the head coach at Terre Haute North High School for the 2015-2018 seasons. Matt and his wife Amy have two kids, Tanner 15, and Wrin 12, and currently reside in Terre Haute. Matt is Vice President/Co-Owner of  Benchmark Fabricated Steel in Terre Haute.

My name is Asia Povlin. I started playing volleyball when I was 8 years old, and joined my first travel team when I was 9. I played for COA for 9 years. I was an all around outside hitter growing up in school and in club, and was named captain for many of those years. I attended Sullivan High School where I played varsity volleyball, softball, and basketball all 4 years. I also played travel softball for 12 years. I made the all district team and second team all state my senior year. I made the IHSVCA 3A south team my senior year of high school. I broke the record for most kills in a tournament and most kills in a season at Sullivan High School. I finished with 1000+ digs and 1500+ kills in my high school career. I am currently playing college volleyball at Indiana State University as a Defensive Specialist. I am majoring in Nursing, and plan on double minoring in nutrition and public health. This will be my second year of coaching.

Aaron has been coaching for COA for several years. In the past, he has assisted with multiple age groups at clinics and during club season. Primarily, Aaron had been the assistant coach for the 18-1’s team along the side of Ali Fell and assisted the team to multiple top three finishes at tournaments around the Midwest in the 18 Premier division and two top 5 finishes and one 2nd place finish at the AAU National Tournament in the 18 Club Division in Orlando, Florida. In previous years, Aaron has assisted at Terre Haute North Vigo High School. Aaron has previously been a volunteer assistant coach at Indiana State University. In 2017, he aided ISU in reaching the MVC tournament where they made program history with their first ever tournament win. Aaron is always striving to find ways to better not only himself but COA and everyone associated with the club. Outside of COA, he is working for Aramark inside Pendleton Correctional Facility. This year at COA, Aaron will be the head coach for the 16-1’s team and is super excited to bring the knowledge and skill that he has obtained from many great coaches around the area. Aaron recently got married to his wife Bailee and they have two cats, loafy and biscuit. They currently reside in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Hello everyone! My name is Audrey Lee and this is my first year coaching at COA, but not my first time with coaching a team! I am from Brazil, Indiana, where I attended Northview High School, but I currently attend Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College as a freshman to pursue my Bachelors of Science in Nursing. In high school, I was a four year Varsity starter and played as an outside through and through! During my time there, I was a three year captain and was named WIC All Conference three years as well. For my travel career, I have been a part of COA for six years. Throughout the years, I have made countless friendships from this club and many lessons that I will carry with me forever; with being an assistant coach for the club that I hold dearly to my heart, my goal is to inspire children of all ages that anything is possible as long as you work hard and always give 110%. 

This is year 2 for Sara at COA.  She is currently the assistant volleyball coach at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology while getting her master’s degree at ISU for physical education Exercise Science. Sara is from Colorado and began playing in middle school, eventually playing 4 years of club in northern Colorado in high school. After graduating high school, she went on to play college volleyball at Presentation College in Aberdeen, South Dakota. She played 5 seasons for Presentation College as a DS/Libero. After graduating from PC in 2018 with a B.S. in Exercise Science, she went on to be the assistant volleyball coach at Alma College in Alma, Michigan. Sara coached there for a year in a half, the 2019 and 2020 season. Also, while in Michigan, she was the Head 18s coach for FarOut North VBC. Lastly, before landing in Terre Haute, she was the head C-Team coach and assistant varsity coach at Thompson Valley High School in Loveland, Colorado for the 2020 season.

Lauren grew up in Joliet, IL playing volleyball since 6th grade. She went to Joliet West High School and played for UNO VBC. Lauren went on to play volleyball at Olivet Nazarene University as a setter/ds where the team made it to the NAIA National Tournament 3 of those years and won the CCAC every year. As a student-athlete, she earned the NAIA Champions of Character award, the Larry D. Watson Ambassador Award, the highest award in ONU Athletics, and was a team captain. She graduated in 2012 with a degree in Sports Management.

After graduating, Lauren became the Graduate Assistant Coach at Trevecca Nazarene University (NCAA Division II) in Nashville, TN for 2 seasons while earning her Masters of Organizational Leadership. Following Trevecca, she became the assistant coach at Charleston Southern University, a NCAA Division I institution, in Charleston, S.C. for two seasons before stepping away from coaching to grow her family.

Her husband, Seth, works in ISU Athletics and they have three young children.

Denise joined the COA coaching staff in 2018 at the 14’s level.  A native of Muncie, Indiana and a graduate of Muncie Burris High School and Ball State University, Denise Meyer has been around the sport of volleyball consistently since she started playing it in the sixth grade. She was able to play the game through high school and for 3 years of college. Transitioning into coaching the game started when she earned her teaching degree. Denise has amassed over 20 years of volleyball coaching experience at a variety of levels.   After moving to Greencastle, Indiana, Denise spent the fall of 1996 as the JV coach and assistant varsity coach at Owen Valley High School before landing a full-time teaching job for Greencastle Community Schools.  She spent a number of years coaching at the middle school level before moving up to Greencastle High School in 2014, first as the JV coach & assistant varsity coach. In 2022 she took over the varsity coaching and program responsibilities at Greencastle.  While coaching there, the program has won 3 sectional titles in 2017, 2018 and 2023 along with several county championship titles. Beyond coaching volleyball, Denise teaches English at Greencastle Middle School where she’s been since 2004. She is also the proud mom to three daughters Maggie, Abby, and Lilly and wife to Tony.

Shelby has been playing volleyball since the fourth grade. She competed at COA as well as Terre Haute South where she was a four year varsity letter winner. Her Senior year, she was named captain and libero. At South, Shelby won two Sectional titles and was an All MIC Conference member her Senior year. Shelby then went on to play Division 1 volleyball at Arkansas State University. Starting all four years as a defensive specialist, Shelby played against BYU, Western Kentucky, Mizzou, IU, Kansas, Tulsa, and several other top 20 teams. Shelby graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in May of 2014. She has been a practice player, assistant and head coach for COA for nine years, along with one year as head coach for the 10's team at Arkansas Jrs.  Shelby is also the Varsity coach at Terre Haute North High School.

This is Jocelyn’s 4th season coaching at COA. Jocelyn attends Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and is in her senior year and is studying Nursing. She played on the Women’s Volleyball team there and was a 3-year captain and is currently 1st for All-Time Career Digs and earned other accolades throughout her career there. Prior to coming to Indiana to attend college, she went to Millennium High School in Goodyear, Arizona, where she is originally from and won a State Championship her senior year of high school. She played club at AZONE Volleyball Club for 4 years but has been playing volleyball for the past 9 years. She played multiple positions and has always been around volleyball year round. She loves sharing her love and passion for the game through coaching and is very excited for this year! 

Alexis Keoho is from Hau’ula, Hawaii. Alexis has played volleyball since she was roughly 10 years old and has grown an endless love for the game. She played club, intermediate, and high school ball up until junior year when COVID hit. Alexis then signed with Western Nebraska Community College where she played both years as a setter/DS, winning the Regional Championship with her team and 6th at the NJCAA National Tournament her sophomore year. Alexis graduated with her Associate Degree in Biology from WNCC. She currently just finished playing her fourth year of volleyball at St Mary of the Woods College, pursuing her master's in biology in hopes of getting into Dental School to become a Pediatric Dentist. This will be her second-year coaching with COA, Alexis was an assistant for the 13.2 Jaguars last year.

My name is Paige Buchhaas. I played COA from the 3rd grade until my senior year of high school. I also played school ball from 6th grade until senior year. I played Varsity volleyball at North Vermillion all 4 years of high school. When I was not playing school ball or COA I was at volleyball camps anywhere and everywhere. I was also a member of the Under Armour Volleyball Team! & Elite Volleyball team. I played in the front row but my base position was middle blocker. I love teaching front row players how to be a beast at the net! I currently coach at South Vermillion Middle School! I cannot wait to coach volleyball year round and be back with the COA family! 

My name is Sofia A. Soto Cruz I was born and raised in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. I began playing volleyball in CVE Volleyball at the age of 10 and at the age of 12 changed to Criollas de Caguas, finally at the age of 16 to 18 I finished my club season with CVH Volleyball Club.
During this time I attended 6 National Championships, 6 USA Qualifiers, and a lot of local tournaments and also played volleyball for Radians School in Cayey, Puerto Rico. After graduating high school I committed to Saint Mary of the Woods College. I am a second year student studying Business Administration with a Marketing minor. My first year in COA I coached the 10-11 TNT. This will be my second year coaching at COA with 14 Great Whites as Head Coach. I am so excited to begin this new season!

My name is Leishmarie Virella and I am from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. I have been playing volleyball since I was 4 years old, which has allowed me to develop a deep passion and knowledge for the sport. I study at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and I am a libero/DS. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to learn and grow both in technical skills and game strategies. My goal as a coach is to inspire and guide my players, helping them reach their full potential both on and off the court.

Isabel is from Tucson, Arizona. She currently attends Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College as a senior and is studying to earn her Bachelors in Psychology. She has played volleyball since middle school and just finished her final season this year. Isabel played volleyball for Pima Community College before transferring to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. At Pima, Isabel earned her Associates Degree in Liberal Arts, and even went to the national tournament in 2021 where her team placed 11th. During her time at SMWC, she earned defensive player of the week as well as made the all conference team while breaking program records. This is Isabel’s first year coaching with COA, and she is very excited for the new experience! She cannot wait to share her love for the game with the younger generation of volleyball players.

My name is Jayden Luette. This is my 2nd year coaching volleyball but my first-year coaching for COA. I am a freshman student-athlete at SMWC getting a degree in Media Arts. I am originally from Dallas, Texas, where I attended Hebron High School, and played club volleyball as well as varsity esports. I am an OH/OPP and have also played middle for 2 years. I played club at Frisco Flyers for 3 years until my senior year moving to Victory Volleyball Club. I came to Indiana to continue my volleyball career, and to help achieve my goal of being a video game designer.

Maddy has been coaching at Crossroads of America Volleyball for 6 years. This will be her 7th season coaching and second year head coaching in the 12s division after coaching the 10s and 11s over the previous few years. A native of Terre Haute, she found her love of volleyball when she began playing for COA in the fifth grade. She continued playing for the club throughout middle school and high school before graduating from Terre Haute North. From there, she decided to continue her education and volleyball career at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College where she was the first scholarship volleyball player. She helped lead the first ever scholarship team to three USCAA National Championship Runner-Up Medals. While a Pomeroy, she was recognized with several awards including USCAA All-American Honorable Mention, USCAA National All-Academic Awards, USCAA National All-Tournament Team, and Pomeroy Student-Athlete of the Year. She graduated from SMWC with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Currently, she works as a Kindergarten Teacher at DeVaney Elementary in Terre Haute.

This will be McKenzi’s 7th year coaching, and her 5th at COA. She is from Brazil, Indiana and started playing volleyball in fourth grade at COA. She lettered all four years at Northview High School and went on to continue her volleyball career at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. At SMWC, she was a part of the first inaugural scholarship volleyball program. McKenzi was an outside hitter and helped lead her team to four USCAA National Championship Runner-Up Medals. While at SMWC, she received several awards including USCAA Student Athlete of the Year, USCAA All-Academic Awards, USCAA 1st Team All-American, USCAA 2nd Team All-American, USCAA All-Tournament Team, and AVCA USCAA All-American. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and is the Director of Grants and Strategic Planning at RJL Solutions. 

A native of Brazil, Kambree Lucas is a first-year coach at COA where she previously finished out 5 seasons of Division I indoor and beach volleyball. While at Northview High School, she established herself as one of the best outside hitters in Indiana. Her high school career was marked by breaking records for most kills in a single game, a season, and a career, helping to lead her team to a state runner-up title in 2018.

She continued her volleyball career at the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM), where she excelled in both indoor and beach volleyball from 2020 to 2023. She had a pivotal role in leading the program to its first OVC regular-season championship in over two decades and helped the team advance to the second round of the (NIVC).

Kambree earned All-OVC second-team honors in 2022 and was named to the OVC All-Tournament team that same year. In 2023, she was selected for the All-OVC first team and played a key role in defeating nationally ranked teams such as Georgia State and Stetson. Her performance helped UTM capture the OVC championship, and she earned the OVC Pair of the Week award three times, culminating in being named one-half of the OVC Championship Most Valuable Pair. Her efforts led the beach volleyball team to consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in 2022 and 2023.

In 2023, Kambree transferred to Eastern Kentucky University. During her time at EKU, she helped the team achieve their first national postseason appearance since 2004 by qualifying for the NIVC and securing a top-three finish in the ASUN Conference.

Zoey Birchler is from Evansville, Indiana, where her volleyball journey began in the second grade. At age 11, she started playing travel volleyball. Zoey excelled at Evansville North High School, lettering three years on varsity as a libero. Throughout her travel volleyball years, she was not only a libero but also the team captain on every team she played for. Remarkably, when she was just 13, she played on the 18s national team at Owensboro Volleyball Club and continued to compete at that level until she left for college. During her club career, Zoey's teams won many tournaments, with the most notable victories being at MEQ’s and JVA Worlds.

After completing her high school career, Zoey went on to play at Wilmington College before transferring to Indiana State University. At Indiana State, she was a player and the club secretary for the Women's Club Volleyball team. Currently, she is pursuing a degree in Sports Management with a minor in Coaching.

In addition to her studies, Zoey serves as the Head Volleyball Coach at Terre Haute North High School. This marks her first year coaching at COA and her second year at Terre Haute North, where she continues to share her passion for volleyball and leadership.

This is Rachael’s fourth year coaching for COA. She’s a Terre Haute native and has been playing volleyball since she was in 5th grade. Rachael has played for COA for five years and was a four-year volleyball athlete at Terre Haute North Vigo High School (2-year varsity athlete). She is currently the record holder for amount of points scored in a game in 2014. Rachael was the head coach for the Junior Varsity’s volleyball team at Terre Haute South Vigo High School for one season in 2022.

Rachael graduated from Indiana State University with her Bachelors in Sports Management in 2020 then completed her Masters in Physical Education Coaching in 2022. Rachael recently got engaged to her fiancé Gideon and has two cats, Lily and Charlie. Rachael has coached 14-3’s for two years and coached for 14-4’s last season. Rachael is looking forward to coaching 13-3’s this season.

Brian began coaching club volleyball in 1992. He was a part of starting the Crossroads of America Volleyball Club in 1999 and has continued to be a dedicated leader of its development over the many years since its beginning. He has coached in many age groups over the years, but in recent years has coached the 12-1s team, taking his girls to several top 20 finishes at AAU Nationals--with one finish in GOLD.  This year, he will continue serving as Club Director and dedicate his time as a 'Tier'  lead coach and back coaching the 12-Scorpions (1s).  Brian is the current head coach at Terre Haute South Vigo High School. As the head coach for eleven years, he has led the team to over 275 wins with three sectional titles, one MIC conference title, three Conference Indiana title --and was one win away from the IHSAA 4A Final Four two years in a row (2002, 2003). He began playing volleyball in 1987 at the White River Park State Games, then coached by HOF Cathedral Coach Rhonda Low. His local club team finished state runner up three years in a row. He was later picked up by a club team out of Toledo, OH and competed in the Boys' USVBA Nationals in 1989. He then went on to be a part of the IPFW Men's team for two years, before transferring to ISU where he earned a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in English and Administrative Education. Brian has participated in many collegiate camps around the Midwest. He has been exposed to some of the best minds in the game from camps, club, and participating in numerous AVCA National Conventions. Always passionate when on the court, Brian continues to strive to be a 'student of the game' and always trying to learn/try something new. 

This is Jillian’s first season coaching at COA. She is originally from Marshall, Indiana. She is a 2021 graduate of Parke Heritage High School where she recorded over 1500 career assists and was a 3-time All-Wabash River Conference honoree. In her high school career as a 4-year letter winner and 2-time team captain, she was recognized as an IHSVCA Academic All-State honoree as well as being named to the AVCA Phenom watch list and Under Armour All-American watch list. 

Jillian’s club career started at COA when she was ten years old. She started playing at Circle City Volleyball Club when she was twelve, which was where she stayed to finish out the remainder of her club career.

Jillian is a senior at Rose-Hulman majoring in biomedical engineering. She just completed her senior season as a setter/right side hitter on the Rose-Hulman Volleyball Team. As a 4-year letter winner, her accolades include being a team captain for the 2024 season, 2nd Team All-HCAC selection in 2023, and 3-time All Academic All-HCAC honoree (2022, 2023, 2024). She was also named as a 2024 NCAA Division III CSC Academic All-District honoree. In school history, she currently ranks 6th in career assists with 1884 and 7th in career aces with 144.

Judy is one of the more experienced volleyball coaches in the state of Indiana. She has coached 43 high school seasons. This includes a remarkable record of 497 wins with 132 losses.  Over the years, her teams have won 8 sectionals and 4 regionals.   She has coached 1 Indiana HS All Star and trained 3 girls that went on to play in D-1 collegiate volleyball, along with multiple other young ladies that played D-2, D-3, and NAIA.  She has also coached over 10 years of junior high school volleyball. Judy has also spent over 20 seasons coaching club volleyball with different clubs and age levels in Indiana and Florida.  

Judy was an accomplished player before becoming a coach.  She ended up playing collegiate volleyball at Indiana State University from 1969-1971. When not in the gym, Judy loves to spend time with her 2 children and 3 grandchildren. She has coached with COA VBC in the past and is excited to be back working with the younger girls. 

My name is Kia Knox-Dawkins. I was born I Denver Colorado, but have lived in Indy for about 15 years. Ihave been playing volleyball since I was 10 years old. I played club at Munciana and played/graduated From Pike High school. I currently play at Saint Mary of the Woods College.

This is my first year coaching at COA, I am a freshman student-athlete at Saint Mary-Of-The-Woods College where I am majoring in nursing! I am from Coatesville, IN and graduated from North Putnam High School, where I played four years of varsity volleyball and was named capitan my senior year! My volleyball experience started at the age of 8 years old playing at various clubs the last 7 years finishing out my high school career at Circle City VBC. My senior year I made the 2023 IHSVCA 2A South Indiana All-Star Team. I am looking forward to having a great season and watching the girls learn and develop as athletes and  young ladies!

Hi everyone! I am Desiree Beverley, this will be my first-year coaching here for COA, however not my first-year coaching. I coached at my previous club, United VBA, located in New Braunfels, Texas. I finished my club career there playing on their national team for 4 years. I’ve been playing volleyball for 7 years now, starting out as a middle and now playing as a 6 rotation outside for my college team.

I’m currently continuing my volleyball career at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology while pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering on a pre-med track to become an Orthopedic Surgeon in the future. I am originally from San Antonio, Texas where I attended Byron. P Steele Highschool, graduating Summa Cum Laude in the top 5% of my class.

I was a multisport athlete, playing volleyball, basketball, and running track, however, I chose to continue my colligate career in volleyball! I was a 3-year Varsity starter, earning Academic and All-District Honors all 3 years. My senior year I led my team to a District Championship in the 6A division for the first time since 2013 and earned many accolades such as Academic All-State, AVCA Best and Brightest, and 1st Team All-District.

I am super excited to share my passion and knowledge of the game with the girls here at COA, let’s have a great season!

Heather has been a student of the game since her early days at Woodrow Wilson. She was a three year starter at Terre Haute North High School, played club volleyball for seven years and finished her career setting for Marian University. While living in Indianapolis, she coached for three years in the Metro South Volleyball Club in both the 16 and 18 age divisions. Since joining COA over 10 years ago, Heather has coached teams in the 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 age divisions. A frequent instructor at camps and clinics, she is also the director of the Volleytots program. In her spare time, Heather has added volleyball referee to her resume giving her an opportunity to see many of our COA athletes compete for their schools. She is looking forward to a fantastic season and is excited about returning to her passion of skill development for our younger athletes.

Hannah was raised in Terre Haute. She began her volleyball career in 4th grade playing for COA and continued to play all the way through college for club teams. Hannah graduated from Hanover College with a degree in education. She is currently teaching in Vigo County. This will be her third year as a head coach. She is currently the JV and Varsity coach for St. Patrick's middle school where they have won the St. Charles tournament and placed second in the COA middle school tournament under her 2 years there. Hannah is excited to continue coaching in youth development. 

I started playing volleyball when I was 6 years old at my local recreational league and have not stopped playing since. I played club throughout middle and high school and am now playing at Rose Hulman. I earned 2 varsity letter awards for volleyball, a highlight on the AVCA Phenom Watchlist in 2022, 3 spotlights on the JVA Watchlist in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and 3 Scholar Athlete awards in 2022, 2023, and 2024. I grew up playing as a DS, then got moved to a 6-rotation pin hitter, and now I am a pin hitter on the varsity volleyball team at Rose. I am originally from Kansas City, Missouri but then moved to Carmel, Indiana where I have lived since. I am currently studying Civil Engineering at Rose and plan to minor in Sustainability and Materials Engineering. Before coming to Rose I was a coach at my club for 4 years, and a volunteer coach for recreational volleyball for a year prior. This will be my first-year coaching with COA, but I am incredibly excited to start this year! 

This is Katelyn's 2nd season coaching for COA. Katelyn was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana. She played volleyball starting at the age of 12 and played for Pantera VBC, Hoosierland VBC, Tier Ten VBC, and Bloomington High School South. Katelyn committed to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College before her senior year of high school, and played all four years at SMWC. During her time at SMWC, Katelyn was a USCAA National champion and earned USCAA National All-Academic Awards and River States Conference All-Academic Awards. Katelyn graduated from SMWC in 2023 with a degree in Elementary Education and currently teaches first grade at Ben Franklin Elementary School. 

Katelyn's coaching experience started at Tier Ten VBC. She coached their youth league for three years before coaching their 13-1s. After college, she coached the varsity team at Otter Creek Middle School, along with COA's 12-3s. This most recent school season Katelyn coached Junior Varisty at Terre Haute South High School.

Emma is from Sullivan, IN and played volleyball at COA from the time she was 11 years old until she graduated high school in 2019. As a setter on Sullivan High School’s varsity team, she broke the single game assist record her freshman year, the career assist record during her senior year, and was a member of the fourth most winningest team in Sullivan history. She was a defensive specialist on the 2019-2020 Rose-Hulman volleyball team before transferring to the University of Evansville and earning her degree from there. Emma helped coach the Sullivan Middle School 7th and 8th grade teams last season and is very excited to coach her first season at COA this year!

Jayden Thompson is from Terre Haute and started out playing volleyball at the Boys and Girls Club in 5th grade and then progressed and started her volleyball career with COA in sixth grade. Jayden played at Terre Haute South where she was an outside hitter and during her time at COA she was an outside and DS/Libero. Jayden was supposed to further her career of volleyball into college but due to an injury decided to focus on her studies. She currently is attending Indiana State University and is studying for her bachelors degree in marketing. This will be Jayden’s first year coaching and she is excited to see the progress of the team throughout the season!

Hi, everyone! I am Melissa Cassady and this is my first year coaching with COA! I am looking forward to working with your girls and getting to know them this season! I am originally from Valparaiso, Indiana where I played volleyball for three years. I then moved to Terre Haute for school and got my bachelors degree in Elementary Education. I am currently a first grade teacher in Vigo county. I'm looking forward to a really fun and exciting season this year! 

This is Caroline's first year coaching club. She is from Terre Haute and continues to live and work here. Caroline played primarily as a middle and outside hitter. She played COA for 7 years and continued playing intramurals in college. 

Travis has a background in sports that goes back to the 1980's. He spent most of his time on the ball field, growing into a successful high school baseball player, and then went on to play at ISU.  He started the Mad Dog Baseball Travel Club a few years back, working as the co-director and coach.  His involvement with COA has developed from being a COA parent first, and has led to a passion for the sport. He is now the recruiting coordinator, familiar with NCAA rules, the recruiting process, and assists the COA athletes with the use of the Sports Recruit website;  COA uses this website to promote our athletes to colleges across the Midwest and beyond.

For info on becoming a coach with COA, please click HERE! 

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