CHICAGO — Cody Caldwell left Loyola University as a conquering hero at the pinnacle of the men’s indoor collegiate game. He will return to the Windy City on Friday for the AVP Gold Series Chicago Open beach volleyball tournament with substantially more sand swagger than he enjoyed in previous seasons.
A memorable run to the semifinals with partner Seain Cook in the iconic grandaddy of beach volleyball, the Manhattan Beach Open, two weekends ago in Southern California will do wonders for one’s outlook.
“Third place at Manhattan was a great finish and it always feels good when you get something you can hold on to,” Caldwell said earlier in the week after a practice session at blustery Oak Street Beach in 17-mph wind howling off Lake Michigan. “As athletes, we’re never really satisfied, we’re always looking for more.
“But it’s a great feeling, especially since it might move me up in the ranks. Maybe make my road a little easier, start kind of carving my way into the top teams. So I’m super stoked to be back in Chicago. This is my favorite AVP of the year. I’m fired up for this weekend.”
Chicago fans likely will be fired up to see him.
Caldwell was a key contributor to NCAA champions in 2014 and ’15 with the Loyola Ramblers, teams that included (in ’14 and ’15) Thomas Jaeschke, an Olympic bronze medalist who represented the USA in the Rio and Tokyo Games, and (in ’15) Jeff Jendryk, a member of the USA national team who likely will be on the 2024 Olympic roster in Paris.
Caldwell was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, after Loyola (29-1) defeated Stanford at a packed-to-the-rafters Gentile Arena, rocking a crowd of 4,485 volleyball crazies. Caldwell cracked 20 kills and made 10 digs in the four-set title match. In 2015, He was named to the all-tournament team after the Ramblers (28-2) made it back-to-back titles, topping Chicago-area rival Lewis in a five-set thriller that ranks among the best NCAA men’s finals in history.
But gaining a foothold in the beach game proved a challenge, even for a player of Caldwell’s indoor resume. Cody was little more than a footnote in the first four times competed in the Chicago AVP.
In 2017, a couple of years removed from his glory days with the Ramblers, and between indoor seasons overseas, Caldwell lived in Chicago and worked the summer setting up beach nets for Chicago…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Volleyballmag.com…