COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball program is proud to announce that junior Cody Dodd was selected as one of 36 athletes to participate in the U.S. Collegiate National Team (CNT) program that will train and compete in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships from June 21-29 in New Orleans, La.
“It's really means the world to me,” Dodd, a Cookeville native, said of the opportunity. “I never thought in a million years that I would ever get an opportunity like this. I'm going to be proud to wear red, white, and blue. I just can't thank Dave [Zelenock, TTU head coach] enough for all that he has taught me to get me to this level of play.
“I hope to gain more knowledge of the game. I know a lot now, but it's different when you’re with the best girls in the country. I think I will learn so much and hopefully bring that back to my teammates here so we can be the best team possible.”
The 6-foot-4 opposite hitter earned a place on the 2014 All-Ohio Valley Conference team following an impressive 2014 season where she finished the regular season with 408 kills, 306 digs, 85 blocks, and 46 aces. She led the conference in points (4.36) and service aces (.40), and was second in kills (3.58) in overall play. In conference play, she finished first in aces (0.44), and second in both points (4.75) and kills (3.97) to the 2014 OVC Player of the Year Scottie Ingram of Murray State. Dodd is the first player to earn the honor of All-OVC since Kelsey Grey earned the honor following the 2012 season.
“As far as we know, Cody is the first TTU player in any sport to be in this position,” head coach Dave Zelenock said of Dodd’s opportunity to represent Team USA, “So it's great for the entire athletic department, not just our sport. The OVC coaches all knew what she was capable of, so this just puts one our kids on a national stage. I've heard from a lot of them how glad they are she was selected. It shows that the level of play in the OVC is on the rise and we can start to get in the mix for NCAA tournament at-large bids, not just our automatic qualifier.”
“Cody has been training this spring harder than ever,” Zelenock commented. “She's our only senior and is taking next fall very seriously. She got a taste of winning last year and it was like a shark smelling blood. Since we've found out about Cody making the team, we really haven't done anything different in the gym because we are all focused on winning the OVC next year. We challenge every player to do more than currently capable of. For Cody that just means when she's hitting she goes against two or three coaches every time she hits. Her passing and blocking are catching up to her hitting skills and she's in the best shape of her life. She is ready to go.”
Dodd will head to New Orleans on June 21 and will open with training.
After the training portion of the program, the 36 athletes will be divided into three equal teams which will compete in a round-robin event June 26-29. The round-robin event may include an additional team to increase the field to four teams that would compete June 25-29.
“USA Volleyball is excited to bring these three dozen outstanding collegiate athletes together for the College National Team program in New Orleans,” USA Volleyball Senior Director Tom Pingel said. “It’s always beneficial to the development of our National Team pipeline to get this group in the gym during the summer, as well as in front of the juniors playing at the GJNC so they can see the next level of play. Over the past four years, our CNT athletes have served as outstanding role models for these younger athletes.”
The coaching staff for the CNT-GJNC program will be named in the coming weeks.
U.S. Collegiate National Team for 2015 USAV Girls’ Junior National Championships
Name (Position, School, 2015 College Year, Hometown)
Adora Anae (OH, University of Utah, So., Laie, Hawaii)
Bianca Arellano (S, Arizona State University, Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.)
Alexis Austin (OH, University of Colorado, Sr., Houston, Texas)
Morgan Bergren (S, University of Kentucky, Sr., Muncie, Ind.)
Katie Brand (S, Kansas State University, Jr., Grand Island, Neb.)
Kia Bright (OH, University of Central Florida, Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.)
Tiana Dockery (OH, University of Kansas, Sr., Richmond, Texas)
Cody Dodd (OPP, Tennessee Tech, Sr., Cookeville, Tenn.)
Nicole Edelman (S, University of Colorado, Sr., Boulder, Colo.)
Erin Fairs (OH, University of Louisville, Sr., Richmond, Texas)
Canace Finley (OPP, University of San Diego, Sr., Fort Collins, Colo.)
Alyssa Garvelink (MB, Michigan State University, So., Holland, Mich.)
Heather Gearhart (L, University of North Carolina, Sr., Chula Vista, Calif.)
Alyssa Goehner (L, University of Minnesota, So., Lakeville, Minn.)
Krystalyn Goode (MB, University Michigan, Sr., River Hills, Wis.)
Kayla Haneline (MB, University of Northern Iowa, Jr., Plattsmouth, Neb.)
Chelsey Harris (OPP, Rice University, Jr., Houston, Texas)
Ainise Havili (S, University of Kansas, So., Fort Worth, Texas)
Morgan Heise (L, Southern Methodist University, Jr., Hempstead, Texas)
Katie Horton (OH, Florida State University, Jr., Westland, Mich.)
Molly Lohman (MB, University of Minnesota, So., Mankato, Minn.)
Hayley McCorkle (OPP, University of North Carolina, Jr., Winterville, N.C.)
Amanda Neill (L, Purdue University, Sr., Lafayette, Ind.)
Kaitlyn Oliver (MB, Boise State University, So., Helena, Mont.)
Alicia Ostrander (OH, University of Nebraska, Sr., Gordon, Neb.)
Kelsie Payne (OPP, University of Kansas, So., Austin, Texas)
Tyler Richardson (MB, Ohio State University, Sr., Ypsilanti, Mich.)
Jenna Rosenthal (MB, Marquette University, Fr.-R, Fond du Lac, Wis.)
Lauren Schad (MB, University of San Diego, Jr., Rapid City, S.D.)
Luisa Schirmer (OH, Ohio State University, So., Pittsford, N.Y.)
Cierra Simpson (L, University of Colorado, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Gabrielle Simpson (S, University of Colorado, So., Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Azariah Stahl (OH, Purdue University, So., Elkhart, Ind.)
Cassandra Strickland (L, University of Washington, Sr., Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Taylor Treacy (OPP, University of North Carolina, Jr., Columbia, S.C.)
Stephenee Yancy (MB, University of Illinois-Chicago, Sr., Aroma Park, Ill.)
