Source: Bend Franke, Sun Media
A sport that has traditionally taken a backseat to basketball had the spotlight all to itself Thursday night when Niagara College hosted a showcase at its main campus in Welland.
Twenty seven players from 18 high schools in the region competed in a five-set match that the college hopes will raise the profile of volleyball in Niagara.
A night that Joey Martins, head coach of the Niagara women's volleyball team, called a "great send-off for high school players" also collected more than 200 pounds in donations of non-perishable food items.
For Sara Kovac, the showcase was the last opportunity to take the court with some of the players she has played with – and against – in her four years of high school volleyball at Eden.
Though the 17-year-old from Niagara Falls, who is going to Loyola Marymount University on a volleyball scholarship risked injury competing in the exhibition game, she jumped at the chance to take part.
"This is something that will help the game locally. Besides, I love volleyball. I'm going to take very opportunity to play, whenever I can," said Kovac, who intends to major in mathematics at the Los Angeles school.
Maryland and Ottawa also was interested in securing the services of the talented right side, but Kovac was impressed by Loyola head coach Tom Black, who is also an assistant with the U.S. national volleyball team.
"I think I will learn a lot from him," said Kovac, who hopes to play volleyball professionally in Europe after graduating from college.
Loyola also got the thumbs up from her parents, Peter and Mika Kovac of Niagara Falls. They accompanied their eldest daughter on the campus visit to Los Angeles and came away impressed.
"The team makes it seem like a family. That's really important."
Kovac will miss brother Philip, 9, and Ema, 6, when she moves away to live on campus, but has chasing her volleyball dream should ease the feelings of homesickness.
"I definitely will miss home and my family, but I will be doing something I love."
Kayde Bailey and A.J. Botelho, teammates on the Niagara women's team that earlier this month won bronze at the Ontario championships, took turns picking the teams for the showcase.
Bailey's team won it five sets – 12-25, 25-14, 18-25, 25-22, 15-11 but the score was secondary to the experience.
"The players are a little nervous and the coaches are nervous, too," said Martins, who wasn't keeping tabs on how his players fared on the other side of the whiteboard.
"I just want them to have fun. This is a fun night."
Since the teams were assembled at the last minute, leaving no time for practice, players needed time adjusting to playing with new teammates and in unfamiliar positions.
"We all play on different teams, so it took some time to come together as a team," E.L. Crossley's Kyle Butler said.
However, the left side and Kovac's teammate on the Rapids settled into a groove after the first set.
"It was easy to figure out after that. It was nice to play with other people," she said.
Player of the game honours went to Laura Secord's Jasmine Lougheed for the winning side and to Sir Winston Churchill's Marilena Spagnolo for Botelho's team.
bernd.franke@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @TribSportsDesk
