Cobb players help lead A5 club volleyball team to AAU title

The A5 volleyball club’s 13-and-under team is celebrating its triumph in last month’s AAU national championships.

“My team was unshakeable,” coach Karen Arndt said. “They didn’t care who they faced. They just dug in and played really dynamite all weekend.”

The national tournament was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Walt Disney World in Florida.

“Teams come from Texas, Puerto Rico, the Midwest, all over,” Arndt said. “Most teams use this tournament for the preparation for the USAV, which is the other national tournament, so most teams that are competing with us are also competing for the national title.”

The A5 team consisted of players from across Cobb, Cherokee and other counties, including Pope’s Lynden Harvey, Allatoona’s Megan McLarty, Walton’s Marissa McEckron, Mount Paran Christian’s Layla Dunn, Creekview’s Harper Sanders and Cartersville’s Kenzie Wilkie and Holly Dufrene.

“The way the team is formed is we do try outs in October with our club,” Arndt said. “Girls from all over metro Atlanta try out for the teams, and then we form our teams from the tryouts. We do training in the gym and various tournaments to prepare for the national tournament.”

Arndt said her team played is the most elite of the divisions, lost only one set and finished with an unblemished record of 11-0.

McLarty was one of the standout players who stepped up when it mattered most.

“Our final match, which was our championship match, was against a team renowned across the country for being the best of the best,” Arndt said. “When we would start to get down a little, Meagan would come back with a great kill and smart play. She kept us in matches when, sometimes, it could have swayed the other way. She is one who kept on getting kill after kill and kept us under control.”

A5 went on to play at the USAV junior national championships, where it went 4-5 and finished 11th of 23 teams.