A trip to Las Vegas proved successful for Red Deer’s Monique Laforce.
The then 16-year-old couldn’t spend time in the casinos, but she hit the jackpot during her time at the Las Vegas Showcase club volleyball tournament, with her club team out of Calgary.
Monique Laforce of Red Deer was named the top athlete out of an international field of 1,500 at the Las Vegas Showcase club volleyball tournament, earning her a scholarship to Graceland University. The school is in Lamoni, Iowa, and competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Laforce, 17, is a Grade 12 student at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School. She played middle blocker with the Raiders as well as her club team — the U17 Calgary High Performance Elite. She will play as a power hitter at Graceland. Laforce was also named as one of the top five draft choices at the Las Vegas event.
“That’s always been my goal,” she said. “I wanted to go away and get into something new and different.”
“I made the (LTCHS senior) team in Grade 10 and it was a struggle and at times I wanted to give up,” she explained. “But they pushed me and helped me to get better. That will help this coming season for sure. As well, I didn’t like math and Mrs. DeZutter really helped me with that as well.”
Laforce will need to be in Graceland Aug. 11.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com