RDC pair named All-Canadian
Katie Graves is not the most devastating hitter in the Alberta Colleges Women’s Volleyball League, but she’s the most well-rounded athlete.
And it was her ability to not only put the ball away at the net, but turn in outstanding play on defence that earned her recognition on the provincial level.
The second-year RDC Queens power hitter will be one of the talented group of athletes from across Canada who will be honoured at the national championships awards banquet in North Bay, Ont. tonight.
The 19-year-old native of Lacombe is an All-Canadian and the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference representative as the Canadian Colleges Athletic Conference player of the year.
“I’m really pumped about it . . . it means a lot,” said Graves. “And what makes it even better is that the team is with me. Last year my cousin (Spencer Leiske) was an All-Canadian for the men, but the Kings didn’t go and it wasn’t the same for him. I know I got (this award) because of my teammates. You’re only as good as they are.”
And the Queens were that good,
They finished the regular season with a 19-1 record, then rolled to the ACAC championship gold, beating MacEwan 3-1 in the final.
But while Graves will be celebrating with her teammates, RDC Kings star right side Mitch Irvine will have his father on hand when he receives his All-Canadian award at the men’s national championship banquet in Fort McMurray.
“It’s definitely a good feeling as a first-year player, but it would have been a lot better with the team here,” he said. “But we turned in our worst game of the season in the opener of the playoffs (against eventual gold medal winning MacEwan).”
Graves played a major role in the Queens success this season as she was second in kills in the ACAC’s South Division and ninth in digs. In the playoffs she averaged 3.1 kills and 3.67 digs per game. While Graves enjoys putting the ball away on a kill, she may like the defensive side of the game even more.
“I think I enjoy stopping someone from getting a kill as much as I enjoy getting a kill . . I take pride in not allowing the ball to hit the floor,” she said. “I certainly appreciate the fact I receive recognition as an all-around player.”
Graves believes the amount of playing time she received as a rookie last season was key to her success this season.
“I’m extremely happy that I came to Red Deer as Talbot (head coach Talbot Walton) gave me a chance to play a lot and by getting that chance it paid off this year. Last year was a feeling-out process while this year I came back with a lot of confidence.”
And she’ll be around next season as well.
“I really like this league and respect Talbot as a coach. If I can come back and help him out that’s great. As well we’ll basically have the same team next year.”
The No. 2-ranked Queens open the national finals Thursday against the host Nipissing College at 6 p.m. (MST).
“There should be some noise and excitement, it’s something we’re looking forward to,” said Graves.
The Queens competed at the nationals last season, which was basically a learning experience.
“We didn’t know what to expect and by the time everything sunk in it was over,” said Graves. “This year over half our team is returning and that will mean a lot.”
The Queens only know about Nipissing what they saw on video.
“They have one All-Canadian and a couple of fifth-year players,” said Walton. “But we feel we matchup well against them and they do have some things we feel we can exploit.”
UBC Okanagan of Kelowna go into the championship as the top-ranked team with defending champion Vancouver Island University of Nanaimo third and F.X. Garneau of Quebec City fourth. Humber College of North York is fifth, MacEwan sixth, Nipissing seventh and Mount Allison from Sackville, N.B. eighth.
Irvine, who left this morning to drive up to Fort McMurray, made a definite impact during his rookie season. He was second in kills in the South Division and finished with a division high 39 aces.
“I wanted to come in at the beginning of the year and make an impact,” he said. “I worked hard to get a starting job and it paid off. Some games I’d like to have back, but overall it was good.”
Kings head coach Aaron Schulha didn’t put a lot of pressure on the Notre Dame grad, but he put it on himself.
“It’s not my personality to sit back and follow. I want to step onto the court and be a leader and to make an impact. I didn’t go in feeling like I was a rookie.”
Irvine will watch the nationals Thursday then return home to train with the U21 team.
• MacEwan and the host Keyano College will represent Alberta at the men’s nationals . . . Basketball Kings third-year guard Adam Shaw was named the Booster Juice RDC male athlete of the week.
Contact Danny Rode at drode@reddeeradvocate.com
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