AVC Coaches

Meredith Rice

Club Director & Recruiting Coordinator

Meredith is AVC’s Club Director and Recruiting Coordinator.  Specifically, she will oversee 15-18 National teams. A native from California, Meredith had 8 years of coaching experience, both as an Assistant and as a Head Coach before joining AVC in 2013. Meredith and Jeff Reaser both came to AVC the same year, and together they helped lead the 17 White team to qualify Open during their first season. To this day, AVC is the only club in the Ohio Valley Region to qualify 2 Open teams in the same age group and a part of a short list of clubs Nationally that have done it. She has coached in many USAV and JVA Tournament Championships at the Open level and two seasons at the collegiate level. At the club level, she has qualified for Nationals 14 times and finished in the top 12 five of those times. During her time at AVC, she has advised hundreds of athletes during their recruiting process and eventual commitment to college. In addition to coaching an abundance of players who have gone onto play at NCAA DI/DII/DIII universities, a handful have also pursued professional careers overseas.

Meredith was elected to the AVCA Assistant Coaches Committee in 2017 as the Club Representative and currently, she is on multiple committees and boards related to national and regional volleyball. Her latest addition has been joining the SWEAT group at 3 Step Sports. SWEAT is for Strong Women Empowering Athletes Together and the main goal is to prioritize advancement, expand opportunities and elevate excellence in women’s sports. 

She has presented at the AVCA Convention the last five years on various topics from training to recruiting. 

For the 2023-24 season Meredith will be the Head Coach of 17 Red, assist 18 Red and help lead the outsider hitter training during National tier training practices. 

Paul Schiffer

Asst Club Director & Co-Founder

Paul is one of the founders of AVC.  He is currently the Head Coach for 18 Red and the Assistant Coach of 17 Red.  He was the Assistant Coach on the 2015 AAU National Championship 17 National team. He has coached several teams to OVR Championships as well as leading his teams to USAV Nationals 15 times. Paul has served as a Coach for teams that have qualified open (12 times). He has coached 148 athletes that have gone on to play in college, including 90+ D1 athletes. He has coached at the CYO, Regional, National and Open level. He also serves as the Business Development and Housing Director for the club.

Jeff Reaser

Director of Player Development & Facilities

Prior to joining AVC in 2013, Jeff had 8 seasons of coaching experience with three area clubs, as well as 3 years of experience with St Joseph’s Academy as varsity assistant.  Jeff coached the 2013 17 White team who qualified Open, the team was the only club in the OVR to qualify 2 teams in the Open division for the same age class.  In addition to coaching, Jeff is the Director of Player Development for the National Program and Director of Facilities. 

Kara Schiffer

Logistics & Operations Coordinator

Kara has been coaching with AVC since 2017. She played for Walsh Jesuit HS and was on an AVC team during their inaugural season. She also played D1 volleyball at Loyola University Maryland where she was a libero/DS for 4 years.  Kara is currently an assistant coach for 17 Red and 18 Red.  In addition to coaching, she is the club’s logistics and operations coordinator.  Professionally, Kara works as a financial business analyst. 

Liz George

10-13s Director & 14 National Director

Liz has been coaching volleyball for over 10 years and has been with AVC since 2018.  She has coached at every level from 12 regional to 17 national. Liz is a graduate of the University of Dayton where she was a member of the Women’s Rowing Team. Liz currently teaches history at Magnificat, where she is also the head JV volleyball coach.

Mary Duffy

14-18 American/Regional Director

Mary joined the AVC coaching staff in 2020. Prior to AVC, she was a Head Coach at CVC and CYO Volleyball Coach at St. Christopher School for 6 seasons. She is also currently a Board Member and League Director of adult AA/Open leagues at Cleveland Eastside Turners. From 2011 through 2019, Mary was the Supervisor of the adult volleyball program at the City of Rocky River managing 80+ teams and officials 4 nights per week. Mary is IMPACT, Safesport, First Aid, CPR, and Concussion certified. She has also trained with USAV and OHSAA as a volleyball official.

Michael Maurer

Camp Coordinator

Michael began coaching for AVC in 2018 after spending 4 years coaching at Maverick and Eastside. Michael has also coached at Ledgemont HS as the varsity Head Coach, Kenston High School as the JV coach, Laurel as the JV coach, Independence High School as an assistant where they lost in the State Semifinals. Michael Most recently has been the HC at Hathaway Brown since 2021 and has set records for wins in a season at Hathaway Brown. Michael is a certified HS and College referee as well. Michael has been playing competitive Volleyball for the past 15 years and is very active in private lessons where he enjoys sharing his knowledge of the sport. Michael has qualified 2 teams for Nationals and looks forward to qualifying many more at AVC.

Anthony Winter

Coach

Anthony joined the AVC coaching staff for the 2023-24 season.  He played collegiate volleyball as a D1 outside hitter at Quincy University.  Anthony was a 3x academic all-conference player, captain his senior year and finished 6^th for the Karch Kiraly Award.  (The Karch Kiraly Award is presented to the best OH in D1 Men’s Volleyball.)  Anthony ended his senior season in the top 10 in the conference for Kills, Digs, Aces, and Points. He also finished 4th place at NCAA Collegiate Beach Championship. 

After college, Anthony went on to be the Graduate Assistant Coach at Missouri Western State University (2018 – 2020), before moving on to his current coaching position as the Assistant Coach for Baldwin Wallace Women’s Volleyball (2020 – current).  Anthony is also the current Program Director at Sandbox Volleyball (2017 – current). 

Professionally, Anthony plays on Cleveland Kong (Cleveland’s VLA Men’s Volleyball Team).  In 2022, the team was the East Division Cup Champions. 

Antoine Pastor

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Belle Hunt

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Brittany Bradford

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Caleb Francis

Coach

Caleb is excited to join the coaching staff at AVC for the 2023-24 season! He began coaching volleyball 5 years ago. Caleb has coached numerous levels of JO volleyball and has been coaching at the national level for the last 2 seasons. Caleb has coached numerous athletes that have gone on to play at the collegiate level spanning across both Division 1 & 2. 

He is excited to join a staff that encourages growth from both players and coaches, creating a culture that is both competitive and rewarding and ensure that players are setup to achieve their goals. Caleb’s coaching philosophy can be summed up by “I am, because we are” a very team first attitude.

Cassie Owens

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Colleen McDaniel

Coach

Bio coming soon! 

Conner Bradford

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Craig Peterson

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Dan Mihacevich

Coach

Dan joined AVC in 2017 to coach with the best talent and best coaching staff in the area.  Dan’s coaching philosophy is to “always be competing!” 
Dan played volleyball at The Ohio State University where he earned 2 team MVP awards, 3 all conference awards and holds the all time kill record and points record for a single match.  Dan is also in the Buckeye record books for service aces and digs.  In 1996 Dan was selected for the Olympic Festival training program where he trained with the National Team coaching staff and the best players in the country.  Dan has won 10 Ohio Valley Region Adult championships and in 2018, Dan finished 2nd in the adult 40+ USA Volleyball National championship. Dan loves the “intense, competitive, forward thinking training environment at AVC.  This is truly a place where players can reach their full potential” Dan has coached youth sports since 2007 including soccer and volleyball.  Dan still plays soccer and volleyball competitively. Dan’s wife Kristen also coaches at AVC, and his 3 daughters all play club/college volleyball.

Danny Stintsman

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Darek Sierko

Coach

Darek joined AVC in 2020.  He has a passion for teaching athletes the fundamentals of the game and developing proper techniques that are essential to grow as a volleyball player.  Growing up, he played high school volleyball in Europe.  Currently, Darek is coaching and helping to run the CYO program at St. Michael School in Independence. At AVC, he has coached teams from 10s-14s, and for the 2023 Season, Darek will coach 15A1 and assist on 12 white.  Last season (2022), his American team took 5th place in the OVR. More recently, he won the City Championship at the elite level with his 8th grade Saint Michael team. He is a certified OHSAA volleyball official, as well as concussion, CPR, Safe Sport, and USA Volleyball IMPACT certified.

Dorian Geiger

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Dylan Sullivan

Coach

Coach Dylan was born and raised in Nebraska. He grew up in a family that loved volleyball and spent many weekends at club tournaments for his sister as the team ball boy. Coach Dylan grew up with a strong desire to play volleyball. However, due to growing up in a small town with no boy’s high school or club team within 90 miles, it wasn’t until he got to the University of Nebraska that he was able to start playing in indoor and sand leagues. While at Nebraska, Coach Dylan attended nearly every home Nebraska Volleyball game. Seeing the play at such a high level, he began dissecting the game and his love for the game deepened. His freshman year of college, he coached his hometown’s girl’s club team.

After college, Coach Dylan moved to New York City and played in a men’s competitive indoor league. Upon moving to Cleveland, he began coaching at AVC and is entering his second season with the club. Coach Dylan’s goal is to develop players with a deep love of the game and the drive to be the best they can be. Outside of volleyball, Coach Dylan is an elementary teacher. 

Erika Snyder

Coach

Erika began coaching for AVC in 2020. She has played volleyball since second grade and has also played JO and Sand. She is also the Head JV Coach at Highland High School in Medina. Throughout her coaching career, she has coached all levels of volleyball (National, American, and Regional). Erika loves helping players develop their volleyball skills as well as helping them develop life skills. Erika has a passion for volleyball and helping to develop young minds and help them achieve their volleyball goals.

Erin Dziak

Coach

Bio coming soon!

George Kambic

Coach

George Kambic is one of the original coaches for AVC, having been with the club since its inception.  In addition, he has been involved with volleyball in the Cleveland area for 30 years, most of this time spent with the St. Rita CYO program in Solon, Ohio.  He has also coached at Hathaway Brown and Hawken.  At AVC, he has coached or assisted at the Regional and American levels mostly at 15 and under, focusing on the development of talent.

Grace Williams

Coach

Grace is excited to be joining the AVC coaching staff for the 2023-24 season.  She has played volleyball for over 10 years, playing for Thiel College as a middle/right side hitter.  Currently, Grace is in school at Notre Dame College studying Healthcare Adminstration.  

Jackie Caja

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Jenny Phillips

Coach

Entering into the 2023-24 season, Jenny is in her 20th season of coaching volleyball (4th year coaching at AVC) and will lead our 13 Gold team this year.  She started her coaching career at her high school alma mater, Holy Name, where she was the head coach of freshman and varsity volleyball for 10 years.  As varsity head coach at Holy Name, she was named North Coast League Coach of the Year three times.  After taking a break from coaching to raise her two children, Jenny jumped back into coach CYO volleyball at St. Michael School in Independence for the past 5 years.  As a coach, she strives to balance core skill development and individual growth with a positive team environment that will foster a lifelong love of the game!

Jessica McCabe

Coach

Jessica McCabe began coaching at AVC in the 2019-2020 season. Prior to joining AVC, she coached youth recreational volleyball in the Kenston school district for 5 years. She played volleyball during her high school years, participated in club level volleyball during college, and continued to compete during her younger adult life in co-ed tournaments/leagues. She is excited to be back for another season and hopes to continue to develop her player’s volleyball skills as well as their love of the game. Her interest in youth sports stems not only from her own experiences, but from her background as a physical therapist. In particular, she is interested in promoting wellness and proper technique in the female athlete. She has a supportive husband of 22 years and three children all active in different sports. She works as a physical therapist at the Cleveland VA in stroke rehabilitation research and as an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University School of Physical Therapy.

Jordan Kortowich

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Kelly Selby

Coach

Kelly joined AVC in 2020.  Kelly will be coaching 13 White this year; previously she was the 11 Red, 12 Red and 12 White coach. Kelly coached various age levels for Kenston Local Schools while serving as a varsity, middle school, and youth coach.  In addition to coaching, Kelly has been a teacher at Kenston for 22 years.  Prior to her coaching career, Kelly was a setter at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, where she also began her coaching career as an assistant coach. Kelly’s coaching philosophy is “Building the character of the person is just as important as developing the skills of the player.  I strive to build up my players, so they have confidence in their skills.”

Kelsey Polak

Coach

Kelsey Polak grew up in Cleveland and played 6 years of club volleyball before playing NCAA Division I Volleyball at Towson University. After graduating, Kelsey assisted Gilmour Academy Varsity Volleyball for 6-years and helped the Lancers to 2-State Championships, and 5-State Final Four finishes. She has coached club volleyball since 2016 and trained setters with 2 local area clubs before joining AVC in 2022 and overseeing National team setter training. 

Korey Middlebrooks

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Krisandra Mezera

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Kristen Mihacevich

Coach

Kristen came to AVC in 2020, after coaching club for 8 years in the Cleveland area.  She has had a lifelong love for the game of volleyball, enjoys personally competing and coaching young ladies to become great players.  She specializes in training 10-12 year old teams.  She first began playing volleyball in 7th grade and continues to this day.  She played for Midview High School and Cleveland State University, coached at Beachwood Middle School, where she taught for 7 years, and even met her husband at a sand tournament 20+ years ago!  Her enthusiasm and energy coupled with her application of teaching the foundational volleyball skills to all players are her strengths that will benefit the players and marry well with the great culture of this club.

Lauren Scott

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Lena Lois Detchoua Tchamaco

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Linda Honey-Dixon

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Lindsey Groomes

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Marci Zoeckler

Coach

Martinae McMichael

Coach

Bio coming soon! 

MaryEllen Mauser

Coach

MaryEllen joined the AVC coaching staff during the 2022-23 season.  She has seven years of coaching experience at the high school level.   Her favorite part about coaching is watching the girls work together as a team.  MaryEllen believes that encouraging one another helps each team member reach maximum potential.

Matt Onweller

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Matt Szuter

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Meg Onweller

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Megan Green

Coach

Going into the 23-24 season, Megan will be in her 17^th year of coaching volleyball and 4^th year of coaching for AVC.  She will be coaching the 15 Red team this year.  She started her high school coaching career at Lake Catholic from 2008-2016 where she was the JV & varsity assistant.  During her time there, Lake Catholic had 2 Final Four appearances and a Division 2 State Championship in 2010.  She then took over the program at Holy Name in 2017.  She was the Conference coach of the year in 2017, 2018, and 2019.  Additionally she was the OHSVCA District 2 Division 2 coach of the year in 2018.  During her time at Holy Name, she led the team to a State Championship in 2018 and a State Final Four appearance in 2019.  Most recently, she was the head coach of Magnificat high school from 2020-2022 – leading the program to a Division 1 State Championship in 2021.  She was awarded the OHSVCA Division 1 All-Ohio coach of the year in 2022 and led the team to a State Runner-up finish that same year.  Megan has also led several club teams to qualify for the GJNC.  She has a strong passion for coaching and pushing players to become the best they can be. 

Melissa Young

Coach

Bio coming soon! 

Mike Smith

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Mike Westgate

Coach

Mike has been playing competitive indoor and outdoor volleyball for over 20 years. Mike joined AVC in 2022 to be an assistant coach for the AVC 11U White team.  Mike’s approach to coaching is to share his love of the game and bring out the potential of young talent. Mike is a proud father of 2 daughters both of whom play club at AVC. Mike believes that the friendships, competitiveness, and exercise that can be obtained through volleyball at a young age and well into the adult years is unmatched by any other sport.

Milly Laury

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Mya Suber

Coach

Mya joined AVC during the 2022-233 season. She graduated from Euclid High School and played volleyball from the age of 10 all the way through high school. Mya started coaching in her 10th grade year in high school for a city little league. When she graduated, she moved on to coach high school volleyball at Euclid and then Cleveland Heights High School. She is currently a volleyball coach at Roxboro Middle School in Cleveland Heights. Mya recently graduated from Cleveland State University this past spring with her bachelors degree in healthcare administration. She is currently working towards her masters!

Naomi Nyetrae

Coach

Naomi Nyetrae has been coaching volleyball since 2021 and has experienced coaching a 15 Regional team, a 16 American team, and now a 17 National team. Away from AVC, she has coached at Hathaway Brown for the past 2 seasons as their Junior Varsity head coach. Naomi has been involved with the game of volleyball since she was 10 years old, and thoroughly enjoys playing when she can and coaching the game she loves. Naomi played as a defensive specialist and has been able to enhance her coaching experience through mentorship, scouting reports, educational resources, observation, and more. Naomi is currently enrolled at Cleveland State University and seeking her Masters in Social Work. Naomi is beyond excited for another great season at AVC and cannot wait to see the growth that this year holds in her team and herself as a coach.

Nick Owens

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Nikki Ferraro

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Nicolette Maurer

Coach

Nicolette began with AVC in 2018 and has spent 8 seasons coaching at Independence High School as the JV Coach and 1 year at Twinsburgh. Nicolette was a 4 year letter winner in at Cuyahoga Heights High School as the teams Libero where she earned many awards in the area and conference.

Paul Molnar

Coach

Paul has been a JO National head coach for close to twenty years. He spent the last decade as head coach of CVC National teams. He has coached at various high schools in the area including Midview, Trinity, and Cuyahoga Heights. He also volunteered to coach the 7th and 8th grade CYO teams at St. Michael Independence for several seasons. He recently attained NFHS referee certification.

Rich Beran

Coach

Rich came to AVC in 2021 where he helped coach the 17 White Team that won two tournaments and qualified for Nationals!  Rich has been involved with volleyball since 1994, when he began his playing career.  Since then, he has coached a variety of teams and athletes throughout the world, ranging from 3rd grade to NCAA Division I.  Rich has attended many AVCA Conventions and continues to learn new ways to help young athletes become more confident on and off the court.  He has spent the past seven years as an Assistant Varsity Coach at Avon High School where they have won five conference titles.  Rich currently resides in Avon with his amazing wife (who allows him to Coach and tolerates the chaos it causes) and two daughters.

Sean Hayes

Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Sofia Melendez

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Teniya Jenkins

Coach

Bio coming soon!

Vicki Drakatos

Coach

Bio coming soon!