Two different paths led a pair of former Semiahmoo Secondary volleyball standouts to the same destination last month – a Laval, Que. gym in front of scores of fans, waiting to receive their Canadian Interuniversity Sport national champion medals.
For 18-year-old Abbey Keeping, a highly recruited middle blocker, the gold medal was just icing on the cake of her first nationals experience with the UBC Thunderbirds, who’ve won the last four CIS titles. Court time is hard to come by for rookies on a team featuring the league MVP and two national team players, but just suiting up in front of more than 2,000 fans was a thrill on its own, she said.
“It was so exciting. I think the warm-up was the most exciting part of the tournament,” joked the first-year arts student.
Another former Semi Totem, Kirsty Setterlund, thought she was done with volleyball when she left high school two years ago, but winning two CIS golds by age 19 is as good an indicator as any that continuing her career at UBC was the right decision.
Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer knew Setterlund enrolled at UBC for academics, but also knew her reputation as a skilled setter, and hoped a few practices “would rekindle her interest.”
“I was just getting tired of volleyball, but I’m so glad I stuck with it,” says Setterlund.
“I didn’t even know I would be playing when I left high school but Doug invited me to practise with the team, and I just sort of became part of it, which was awesome.”
Setterlund won a provincial high school title in 2006-07 with Semiahmoo’s senior team while in Grade 10, and was named tournament MVP. The Totems repeated as champions the following year when Keeping entered Grade 10 and joined the senior squad early.
Keeping also won three-consecutive U-18 national championships in club volleyball with the Fraser Valley Blitz. But still, the jump to the university level was a big one.
Reimer noted the transition is difficult for any first-year, but “it can be more difficult for talented recruits with such high expectation levels.”
“I was told it would be a huge change, but originally I didn’t think it would be,” said Keeping. “It ended up being a bigger change than I was even told. But going from starting in high school to sitting on the bench and having to support the team from there was a good thing, because you get the chance to improve without the pressures of starting right away.”
Setterlund sat out her first year as a red-shirt to keep an extra season of CIS eligibility. Like Keeping, she was a backup for most of this season.
“It’s fun to find a different role that you’re not used to, and each role is important. I think everyone played their role at nationals, and that’s why we became champions.”
Having one of the country’s top volleyball minds at the helm probably didn’t hurt either. Reimer has been named the CIS Coach of the Year five times, and was the Sport BC Coach of the Year in 2010.
“He adds some humour to the team because sometimes he won’t finish his sentence or you’re not sure what he’s talking about, and you just kind of look around and laugh,” said Keeping.
“But then you just ask the older girls, ‘what is Doug talking about?’ because they speak fluent ‘Doug’ by now,” Setterlund laughed.
And once you learn the language, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better person to study under.
“He’s a fabulous coach, especially for me as a setter because he was a setter when he played,” Setterlund said. “It’s awesome feedback and I feel like I’ve improved so much in the last two years.”
In the classrom, Setterlund is studying human kinetics, while Keeping is focusing on psychology.
And though team commitments are time-consuming, they say balancing a hectic schedule is just part of being an athlete.
“Friends always ask how I manage volleyball and school work when they can barely deal with just school, but it’s what I’ve been doing since I was little so I’m just used to it,” said Keeping.
As the next generation in a storied program, Setterlund said they don’t feel extra pressure.
“The team does change a bit from year to year, but no matter what we will always be a group of champions and we’ll continue to be successful.”