GREENVILLE – Chloe Cox and Shelby Herrmann became the second and third Greenville volleyball players to commit to furthering their volleyball careers at the collegiate level.
On Wednesday, Cox signed to continue playing volleyball at Edison State Community College. An hour later, Herrmann signed to play for Bluffton University.
“I have played volleyball since seventh grade,” said Cox, who will be joining fellow Greenville teammate Brooke Stachler as a member of the Chargers. Stachler signed her letter to play for ESCC earlier this year. “It is my favorite sport. I love the intensity an the energy and the connection I can make with my teammates. I think I will fit in good at Edison.
“I kind of wanted to go to a four-year university, but this is a good way to save money and continue playing the sport that I love,” she continued. “And I am really excited to be playing with Brooke Stachler too. She is someone I have played with since seventh grade.”
Cox recalls her senior season at Greenville as the “best” in her four years of playing
“Our senior year here was amazing,” Cox said. “These new coaches (Michele and Jim Hardetsty) really stepped up the program and made my senior year the best year since seventh grade. I can’t wait to see what they do with the program in the years to come.“
“I am really excited to be going to Bluffton,” Herrmann said. “The coach I have is really excited to be working with me and he thinks I could do really well in the back row for his team. It was really exciting to go through the process, but it was also a lot of relief when I finally decided on Bluffton.
“It was a lot of figure out with what fits best and where I wanted to go,” she continued. “Bluffton also was a great fit because I want to go into graphic design and their program is really good there, and they also have a really good volleyball team so that helped.”
Herrmann also enjoyed her senior season with the Lady Wave.
“My senior year was the best season I had at Greenville,” Herrmann said. “Michele and Jim (Hardesty) helped a lot. I wish I would have had them beforehand, but it was a good season and a good way to end my high school career.”
The Greenville team finished 11-12 overall under first-year coaches Michele and Jim Hardesty. The Lady Wave had a nine game winning streak after a 1-5 start.
“Chloe was always one to do what we asked her to do,” said Jim Hardesty. “I’m sure she had a different role the year before, but she accepted what we wanted from her and excelled at what we wanted. She really tried to bring up the younger girls the right way and that was a big help.”
“Edison State is a great opportunity for Chloe,” Michele Hardesty said. “I am just excited for her to be moving onto the next level. Only having her for one year we learned that she is coachable and she has a great attitude. She is light on her feet and quick and I think she will make the adjustment to the college level really well.
“She is highly competitive and is always in a good mental place on the court,” she continued. “We are super proud of her and excited to see her play at Edison in the fall.”
Cox plans to study business and marketing at Edison State.
Herrmann set a new school record for digs in a single season this year with 449, shattering the old mark of 314 set by Lisa Brinley.
“Shelby is a very talented, athletic defensive player,” Michele Hardesty said. “She created a whole of lot of commotion for opposing teams because not many balls that went her way weren’t picked up. She picked up everything that was sent her way and she carried us through some big moments.
“If it weren’t for her passing I don’t think we would have been as competitive as we were this past season,” she continued. “We are real pleased and proud of what she has done, and again that she is moving onto the next level at Bluffton.”
“Shelby is a really energetic girl who goes after every ball,” Jim Hardesty said. “She has done a great job here at Greenville and I think will be a great fit at Bluffton. We really couldn’t ask for a much better player. We are really proud of what she did this year.“
