U Sports Women’s Award Winners for the 2017-18 Season

This weekend, Canada’s most elite female college volleyball players descend on Laval, Quebec for the U Sports 2017-2018 women’s volleyball championships.  This year’s field of award winners is dominated by Ontario, British Colombia, Alberta, and Quebec. Below are the 2018 USports women’s volleyball award winners

The most valuable player in U Sports volleyball goes to the veteran Marie-Alex Bélanger of the 2-seed Montreal Carabins. A well-deserved award for one of the most potent offensive forces in the league that will be a fixture on Canada’s senior national team. Opponents will breathe a respectful sigh of relief when they no longer have to play the 5th-year outside hitter. Another standout this season is the rookie of the year Kiera Van Ryk. It’s not often that rookies have the enormous impact that Kiera had on her team’s success, especially on a program with as much historic dominance as the UBC Thunderbirds. The 6-2 rookie was third in the nation in kills per set and was a steadfast passer, earning a spot as the only freshmen on the All-Canadian 2nd team as well.

Player of the Year

• Marie-Alex Bélanger (Montreal) -3.98 kills per set, 18-2 team record

Rookie of the Year

• Kiera Van Ryk (UBC) – 3.74 kills per set, 24% hitting efficiency

Therese Quigley Award (Student-Athlete Community Service)

• Brianna Solberg (Calgary) – 4.0 GPA

Marilyn Pomfret Award (Coach of the Year)

• Dustin Reid (Ryerson) – 19-0 team record, first program OUA championship

All-Canadian Teams

First Team

• Marie-Alex Bélanger, Outside Hitter (Montreal)
• Kate Pexman, Outside Hitter (Calgary)
• Courtney Baker, Setter (Dalhousie)
• Maicee Sorensen, Middle BLocker (McMaster)
• Beth Vinnell, Middle Blocker (Calgary)
• Myriam Robitaille, Middle Blocker (McGill)
• Alina Dormann, Outside Hitter (Toronto)

Second Team

• Kelsey Veltman, Outside Hitter/Middle Blocker (Western)
• Aiden Lea, Middle Blocker (UBC Okanagan)
• Kory White, Outside Hitter (Alberta)
• Alessandra Gentile, Setter (UBC)
• Katelyn Devaney, Middle Blocker (Trinity Western)
• Theanna Vernon, Middle Blocker (Ryerson)
• Kiera Van Ryk, Outside Hitter (UBC)

All-Rookie Team

• Kiera Van Ryk, Outside Hitter (UBC)
• Julie Moore, Outside Hitter (Dalhousie)
• Julie Wiercigroch, Outside Hitter, (Queen’s)
• Maude Bavin, Outside Hitter (Montreal)
• Julia Zonneveld, Outside Hitter (Alberta)
• Lucy Glen-Carter, Outside Hitter (Acadia)
• Avery Heppell, Outside Hitter (Trinity Western)