Kaylee Domoney has seen it all in her time with the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens volleyball program.
It’s a resumé that gets too hard to summarize at times but in her fifth and final year, the Queens’ libero has one goal on her mind.
“We are aiming high this year. We want to win the ACAC title and then go to nationals,” said the former Lindsay Thurber Raiders standout. “The goal is to cap off the season with gold. We know we have the potential.”
The Queens are off to a strong start in that pursuit, winning all eight matches to start the Alberta Colleges Athlete Conference season. They’ve also swept each of those matches in three straight sets.
“After preseason, we set out a big goal and then looked at what do we need to do daily to reach it,” said Queens coach Chris Wandler. “Once we got that established, players’ roles and identities started to surface where we could emphasize everyone’s strengths.”
As in the past, Domoney has been a huge part of that success. In her first four seasons with the Queens, she helped the program win ACAC silver and two bronze medals, along with Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national bronze in 2020.
She also to earned a pair of All-Conference awards during that span and led the league with 387 digs in 2018-2019.
“Kaylee is a consistent leader who has a tremendous work ethic. Her teammates see what she does on the court, and they don’t want to let her down,” says Wandler of the 2019-2020 RDC Female Athlete of the Year.
“She is just so tough to play against and a phenomenal teammate to have. Kaylee does everything she can to make the next dig and win the next point.”
In 2019-20, Domoney broke the Queens’ record for digs all time, with 1,005. She’s up to 1,058 this year, moving into seventh all-time in the ACAC. She will likely land in the top five by the seasons’ end.
“Kaylee is one of the best liberos in the ACAC. It’s come with a lot of hard work, sweat, and scrapes on the floor,” added Wandler. “She’s a leader through her performance and calms everyone down around her.”
Even if this season ends short of the ultimate goal, Domoney said she’ll look back on her time in Red Deer with pride.
“Whether teammates or coaches, I’ve met some amazing people,” she says. “Going through this journey with them has just been an incredible experience.”