Boston College Athletics
Jordan Meredith Takes Part in 2009 European Global Challenge
August 05, 2009 | Volleyball
Aug. 5, 2009
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Rising sophomore, Jordan Meredith, recently spent part of her summer playing for the USA A2 Junior National Team. The group was one of six American teams competing in the 2009 European Global Challenge along with six additional teams based in Europe. The tournament, which is sponsored by Bring It Promotions, is now in its fifth year of operation.
Meredith's European journey with her teammates matched her team against international opponents, most notably, the Swiss and Croatian Women's National Teams.
"It's always great to play with brand new people and to get to know them in such a short period of time" Meredith said. "Our team chemistry was pretty amazing, especially considering we only had one scrimmage before our first match."
Countries represented in the tournament included Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, Italy, Montenegro and the United States, which sent a total of six teams of its own to compete.
The warm-up contest with the Swiss team energized the USA A2 team as they soared through opening round of play, winning all six of their set matches and earning a spot as the second ranked team in the tournament. Despite their strong push from the beginning, they were set back by CSU Targu Mures from Romania in the quarter-finals, a team they had previously beaten by a score of 3-0.
"Having Jordan play with the A2 team opens her up to the international playing experience," says Leonard, head coach of the Eagles volleyball program. "I've had conversations with her on how this is not only going to help her but also help our program with what she learns and how important it is for her to bring that back to Boston College and elevate the game of those around her."
The USA A2 team finished the tournament placing fifth out of the six teams who earned a spot in the top seeded group, the Brijuni Division, knocking off SCVA Red from Southern California in the fifth-place game.
"It's been an incredible experience not only for Jordan, but also our program," Leonard says. "It's great to have that representation out there. She's the second player to have done something like this, Allison Anderson was our first, so it's the continuation of the upwards direction of our program. She's definitely helping pave the way and its going to be interesting to see how she brings her experience into the locker room and on to the court."
Meredith and the Eagles open the 2009 season on the road against the University at Buffalo on August 28 at 7:00 pm.
