Volleyball team captain, Olivia Meaney, has been key to the team’s success this season
By: Johnny Kilroy
Olivia Meaney is a sophomore and first year volleyball player for the Cuyahoga Community College (Tr-C) women’s volleyball team. She plays the setter position and is one of the team captains. During the season, Meaney averaged 3.75 assists, 1.63 digs, and 0.38 kills per set. Her best performance was against Clark State College in which she recorded 30 assists and 13 digs in a 3-2 loss.
Meaney may be in her first year as a player for the Triceratops volleyball team, but her impact has not gone unnoticed. Her job as a setter and a captain is to be there for her teammates and help whenever there is a problem.
Meaney is “sweet and kind, sometimes shy, but very effective on the court,” says Tionne El-Amin, Tri-C women’s volleyball coach. “Seeing that Livy is my only setter, she has a lot of responsibility which she handles very well,” El-Amin said. “She has been the key to this season and has led us to the playoffs.”
Meaney is friends with everybody on the team. “I’m kind of there whenever they need someone to talk to, whenever there’s a problem, and I try to set a good example,” says Meaney. “I also think we have bonded really well on this team.”
As a setter, she usually isn’t the player in the spotlight scoring all the points. “I don’t get credit too often, but I am always going to be in my teammates’ ears hyping them up with words of encouragement,” Meaney said. “I think I stay really focused when I’m playing, and I never get too mad at myself or other players.”
Meaney has played volleyball since middle school and graduated from Berea-Midpark High School in 2021. She finished her high school career with 205 assists and 141 digs after 62 sets.
Coming from a high school team that had a 1-19 season, Meaney was excited about the prospects of playing in the 2022 NJCAA Region XII Tournament. “Being able to make it to the playoffs is awesome,” Meaney said. “I’m really excited and I think our team has gotten a lot better and really gotten our groove going into the last part of the season.”
It is doubtful that Meaney will return to play next season since she hopes to graduate from Tri-C with her associate of science degree and transfer to a four-year school. “After not playing last year, this season has really brought back my love for volleyball,” Meaney said. “I want to keep playing wherever I go next, even if it’s just club or intramurals.”
