WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Acadia University and Acadia volleyball head coach Michelle Wood are pleased to announce the commitment of four individuals to the Axewomen this coming fall season.
Beginning on the west coast of Canada, Taylor Collombin from Victoria, B.C. will add to the Axewomen's defensive front as a 6'2" attacker.
Collombin was named as an All-Star in the 2016 Island Championships and in 2017 named as the Island Championship Most Valuable Player while playing for Brentwood College School.
In club competition with the Victoria Chargers Black, Collombin was a Victoria Island champion with the 16U squad followed by an Island silver medal and fourth place at Provincials with the 18U Chargers this past season.
"Taylor will be a tremendous blocking threat on the outside, challenging our hitters in training to be more aggressive and smarter and in matches building a wall for our opponents", said Wood. "Offensively with Team BC she has demonstrated how to hit with pace and use off speed options to be an effective attacker."
Calgary, Alta. native Sydney Tonner is the second of two western Canadians to join the Axewomen this fall.
Tonner was named the 2015 and 2016 Female Athlete of the Year at Western Canada High School in Calgary. Named junior volleyball most valuable player of the year in her early years at Western Canada, Tonner was captain of the senior team that captured silver at the Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association championship and fourth overall at the Alberta Provincial Championships.
In club volleyball, Tonner spent her final years with the Junior Dinos 17U and 18U squads and won provincial club championships in 17U and 18U Division 2. Tonner was a team alternate for 18U Team Alberta.
"Sydney comes to us from a very successful Calgary Dino's Program. I believe her leadership skills, commitment to her on going development and resiliency will be a great compliment and addition to our program in the fall", noted Wood.
Moving east to Ontario, Toronto native Lucy Glen-Carter comes from an extensive playing background in high school, club and provincial volleyball.
A 6' outside hitter, Glen-Carter has participated in provincial volleyball programming since her time with the 16U Team Ontario that captured gold at the National Team Challenge Cup in 2015. A member of the Team Ontario 17U team that won bronze in the USAV International Junior Division, Glen-Carter participated in the 2015 Team Canada Youth Whistler High Performance Camp in 2015.
A student-athlete at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, Glen-Carter was the school's Athlete of the Year in 2015 and was the senior volleyball team's most valuable player from 2014 to 2016.
A member of the Pakmen Volleyball Club, Glen-Carter won Ontario provincial championships in 16U and 17U age categories and a Canada Volleyball Nationals bronze medal in 2015. In 2016 as a 17U team member, Glen-Carter captured silver at the Ontario Provincial Championship and a bronze medal at the 2016 National Championships.
For the last two years, Glen-Carter has been a Quest for Gold carded athlete and has been a part of the Youth National Development Program. In 2016, she was at the Team Canada junior women's national team selection camp.
"Lucy will join us in the fall adding tremendous experience that she has gained through the Pakmen Volleyball Club as well as her time with the Youth National Team and representing Ontario on the Provincial team", pointed out Wood. "She is a very physical player that has the strength to end rallies and the versatility to play a variety of roles. understands what is required to be successful on both the individual and team level."
Bianca Ruiz, from Ottawa, Ont. is an outside hitter that will add more offensive threat to the Axewomen's future lineup.
"You cannot underestimate the value of a ball control utility attacker. Bianca will help stabilize our team from both a serve-receive and defensive capacity and will be looking for hands to score", pointed out Wood. "
"Bianca comes from a highly respected Mavericks program that is coached to compete and play with heart which is exactly what Bianca will bring", added Wood.
Ruiz is a student at Ottawa's Glebe Collegiate Institute and captured the consolation championship at the 2016 OFSAA championships.
As a member of the 16U, 17U and 18U Ottawa Mavericks Volleyball Club, Ruiz' team last season finished fifth overall at the 17U 2016 National championship hosted in Edmonton, Alta. Most recently Bianca's Mavericks team won a silver medal at the Ontario Provincial Championship, playing some of the best volleyball they have played all season.
When asked why she chose Acadia, Ruiz's decision was made by her visit. "I chose Acadia because of it's small town and family feel. After my visit in the fall, I knew that I wanted to study at Acadia for the next four years", replied Ruiz.
"With no surprises, all four of these student-athletes pay just as much attention to their academics as they do to their investment in volleyball. It's a combination of the academic culture we've established here at Acadia and the fact that we attract high academic achieving student-athletes", said Wood.
"I'm excited to see the level that our program will reach with the addition of these four high level athletes and the culmination of the work our current student-athletes are putting in", added Wood.