Ada High School senior, Melina Woods, plays on Elite VBTC 17 Black, which recently won the 44th AAU 17 Premier Junior National Volleyball Championship held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.
Elite claimed the title from among the 104 teams in its division after defeating MVA (Michigan) 17 Black in the championship match in three sets (16-25, 25-18, 15-8). During the four day tournament, Elite also beat teams from Virginia, Texas, California, North Carolina, Colorado, Illinois and Kentucky.
With 2,400 registered teams, 40,000 spectators, 9,000 club and high school coaches, and 500 college coaches, AAU Nationals is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world’s largest volleyball event.”
Elite Volleyball Training Center is based out of Integrity Athletics, a multi-sport facility in Plain City. Team coach and club owner, Randy Cline, said, "We had a great week. We have 11 girls on our roster, and every single one of them contributed to our success. I've had this team for two years, so it's been great watching them grow. We were tested at times, but we were playing some superb volleyball that just got better.”
Woods has verbally committed to play Division I volleyball at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. She is the daughter of Dexter and Melanie Woods of Ada.
Caption: Melina Woods with AAU National Volleyball Championship Trophy
