Best of the 2010s: Volleyball / Former East standout is Volleyball Player of the Decade

Editor’s note: After the coronavirus shut down spring sports, we thought we would look back at the area’s best athletes from the past decade, the 2010s.

One requirement to be considered for these All-Decade teams is that the athlete must have competed at least half their careers (at least two years) in the years 2010-19 for in the sport for which they are being considered and must have finished their careers at an area school.

Today, the All-Decade Volleyball team:

Player of the Decade: Cortney VanLiew, Columbus East (2017 graduate)

VanLiew was a two-time All-State selection and helped lead the Olympians to four sectional and two regional titles. She was The Republic Volleyball Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016.

A three-sport standout at East, VanLiew is entering her senior seasons of volleyball and beach volleyball at Florida Gulf Coast. Earlier this month, the outside hitter and two-time ASUN Conference Player of the year was named the ASUN Player of the Decade.

The rest of the All-Decade Volleyball team in order from oldest to youngest:

Audrey Lewis, Columbus North (2012)

Another three-sport athlete, Lewis was a standout in volleyball, gymnastics and track and field for the Bull Dogs. The outside hitter went on to play one year of volleyball at Tennessee Tech and three years at Murray State.

Sara Bean, Columbus East (2013)

Bean was a two-time All-State selection and helped lead the Olympians to three sectional and two regional titles. The Republic Volleyball Player of the Year in 2012, the outside and middle hitter went on to play at Bellarmine.

Micayla Speidel, Columbus East (2013)

Speidel helped the Olympians to three sectional and two  regional titles. The outside hitter went on to play at Indiana University-Kokomo.

Quin Shoultz, Columbus North (2013)

Shoultz, who was a starter on the Bull Dogs’ Class 4A state runner-up girls basketball team in 2012, was a standout setter in volleyball. She played one year at University of Indianapolis and three years at Southern Indiana and is entering her first year as head coach at North.

Lauren Gross, Hauser (2013)

Gross was a two-time All-State selection and helped lead the Jets to three sectional and two regional titles. The middle hitter and the school’s all-time kills and blocks leader went on to play one year at Ball State and three years at Indiana Wesleyan.

Faith Myers, Columbus East (2014)

Myers helped lead the Olympians to three regional titles. The setter was an All-State selection and The Republic Volleyball Player of the Year in 2013. Myers went on to play at Murray State.

Ellie Trotter, Hauser (2015)

Trotter was a three-sport athlete for the Jets and helped lead the volleyball team to four sectional and three regional titles. The setter was The Republic Volleyball Player of the Year in 2014.

Karen Wildemann, Columbus North (2015)

Wildemann was a standout in both volleyball and swimming for the Bull Dogs. The setter went on to play volleyball at Wittenberg, where she was an American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III All-American.

Bailey Western, Columbus East (2017)

Western helped the Olympians to four sectional and two regional titles. The middle hitter is entering her senior season at Northern Kentucky.

Brea Metz, Hauser (2017)

Metz was a two-time All-State selection and helped lead the Jets to four sectional and two regional titles. The outside hitter is entering her senior season at Huntington University.

Sydney Schoen, Hauser (2018)

Schoen was a three-time All-State selection and The Republic Volleyball Player of the Year in 2017. She helped lead the Jets to four sectional and three regional titles and a Class A state runner-up finish in 2017. An all-around player and the all-time aces leader at Hauser, Schoen is entering her senior season as the libero at Eastern Kentucky.

Kendal Williams, Columbus East (2018)

Williams helped the Olympians to three sectional and one regional title. The setter is entering her junior season at IU-Kokomo.

Hannah Sabotin, Trinity Lutheran (2020)

Sabotin was a two-time All-State player and two-time The Republic Volleyball Player of the Year. She led the Cougars to four sectional titles and a Class A state runner-up finish in 2019. The middle hitter is entering her freshman season at University of Indianapolis.

Rilee Jessee, Columbus East (2020)

Jessee helped lead the Olympians to two sectional and one regional title. The outside hitter is entering her freshman season at Felician University.

Hannah Johnson, Hauser (2021)

Johnson already has earned two All-State accolades going into her senior year with the Jets. She has helped Hauser to three sectional titles and a Class A state-runner-up finish in 2017.5ba44413345f4.image 5d8d62c951e8b.image 5db4a6b48285c.image 5f1b353f57c3b.image 57edbc5b62fd9.image 57edbc5697641.image 57fc3c0d6430a.image 59fe0c2de20d6.image 503feb96a29e9.image 504e989171504.image 507b10dd237c5.image 544da1b5d1c89.image 599ccfca37221.image 5424bd6877381.image 50635cb2d92c4.image 5257420224c87.image