3 Columbus volleyball players will play at next level

The Columbus High School volleyball team went 44-12 this past season, reaching the Class 4A state semifinals and on Wednesday three of the players who contributed to that success signed letters of intent to play in college.

Each of the Blue Devils will be attending an NCAA Division I school.

Skylar Blackmon will play at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, S.C., Jha’Meisheia Griffin will play at Georgia State University in Atlanta and Alisi Motu’apuaka will play at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I.

“All three of us getting to play at the college level is just amazing. Hard work and a positive attitude paid off,” Blackmon said.

Each of the senior girls was named as a Georgia Volleyball Coaches Association Senior All Star this past season.

Blackmon plays libero. Her coach, Donna Fleming, called the girl a defensive specialist who has played multiple positions over four years. “She has great vision and great awareness on the court,” Fleming said

This past season, Blackmon has 683 digs, 80 aces, 93 assists and two kills.

“Volleyball is my game. I fell in love with it in the sixth grade, got on a travel team and have been playing year round since. I feel Charleston Southern is the place for me. It is beautiful there. The coaches are so passionate,” Blackmon said.

Griffin, who also plays basketball for Columbus High, can’t wait to get to Georgia State.

“The campus is awesome. I am glad for the opportunity to be tested at a higher level,” she said.

This past season, the middle blocker had 317 kills, 66 blocks, five aces, 63 digs and three assists.

Of Griffin, Fleming remarked, “she has great athleticism.”

“She is a tremendous blocker,” Fleming said.

“A positive attitude is important to being a good volleyball player,” Griffin said. “It is a game of errors and when you make one you have to be able to forget it and keep playing hard.”

This was the first year on the team for Motu’apuaka. Her father was transferred to Fort Benning.

The setter has 1,179 assists, 104 kills, 64 aces, 37 blocks and 357 digs.

Fleming said when Motu’apuaka enrolled in school she went to Google to check out some video of the girl playing volleyball and said to herself, “this girl is dynamite.”

The player, who has a brother playing football at Virginia Tech, said it means a lot for her to go to college since her parents could not and her brothers have gone.

“I used to play soccer but decided to focus on volleyball. It has been a long road to get here and I am looking forward to getting up north and playing. I am excited for me and my teammates,” she said.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "3 Columbus volleyball players will play at next level."