Talented Trio Sign Letters Of Intent With Women's Volleyball For 2018-19
As Women's Volleyball approaches the final weekend of the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference Regular Season, the Blazers are thrilled to announce the commitments of Annika Loeppky (left), Alana Porritt (middle) and Bryce Paterson (right) for 2018-19.
A 5'10 setter from the powerful Lord Selkirk Royals program, Annika Loeppky led her team to KPAC Championship victories in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and entered the MHSAA AAAA Girls Provincials as the #2 ranked team last November. During her time with the Royals, Loeppky received MVP honours at the LSRCSS home tournament, was voted team MVP, Female Athlete of the Year and then finished it off with a MHSAAA Graduating All-star recognition in her final season.
Loeppky was one of four Manitoban student-athletes recognized with the prestigeous Dr. Dale Iwanoczko Memorial Volleyball Scholarship in 2017-18 for her outstanding performance in sport, in the classroom and in the community.
"We are very lucky to have a highly-skilled player like Annika join our program," said CMU head coach Evelyn Kampen, "her leadership qualities are very apparent and she plays with maturity and confidence. She runs a fast offense that is essential to our CMU style of play."
Loeppky was a member of Shock Volleyball 17u Girls who finished 2nd in the 2017 Manitoba Provincial Championships, qualifying for Tier 1 at the Club Nationals last summer. She also captained Team Manitoba to the National Training Centre Cup Tourmanent in Richmond, BC at the 16u level.
Alana Porritt is a 5'6 libero from nearby Oak Park Collegiate. Porritt's high school coach, Jayme Menzies is not at all a stranger to Kampen; the two served together as assistant coaches along with head coach Josh Thordarson last summer with the Manitoba Canada Summer Games team that won gold in Winnipeg.
"Alana is very skilled in serve receive and will be a great contributor in the back row," added Kampen, "she has a positive, up-beat attitude and will be a perfect fit with our team."
Porritt plays club volleyball with Storm 17u's who finished 7th at the Manitoba Club Provincials and won bronze in Tier 3 at the 2017 National Championships In Edmonton. Porritt is currently training with the Junior Wesmen.
5'10 middle blocker, Bryce Paterson will be another valuable addition to the Blazers 2018-19 roster. The Westgate Mennonite Collegiate student led the Wings to a 2nd place finish in the 2017 MHSAA AAA Girls Provincial Championships last December in Brandon. Paterson was recognized at the Provincial Championships with the AAA Girls H.A.R.V. Award, selected by her coach for her commitment to "Hustle, Attitude, Respect and Values".
"I see alot of potential in Bryce" said Kampen, "She is a very athletic and coachable player. She has a strong work ethic and will help strengthen our blocking game."
Paterson plays club volleyball with Mavericks Volleyball Club who finished 8th at the 2017 Manitoba Club Provincials.
CMU completes their 2017-18 regular season on Friday night at Providence University College. The Blazers (10-5) and Pilots (11-4) played to a thrilling five set match in their last meeting on February 3rd at CMU. With a win this weekend, the Blazers and Pilots would set up an interesting tie-break scenario to determine top-seed entering the 2018 MCAC Women's Volleyball Championships. Both teams would have 2 wins and 2 losses in head-to-head competition this season with sets won and sets lost being the next factor of separation. The action in Otterburne begins at 7:30 pm on Friday night.
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