University of British Columbia Athletics

The first from UBC women's volleyball to be selected an All-Canadian twice, Russo was the complete player and UBC team leader, one of the best according to her coaches. Eight years on Canada's National team including an appearance in the '96 Olympics, Erminia also coached Thunderbird volleyball winning CIS Coach of the Year honours in 1998.

In the words of her Kelowna high school coach Rod Belinski, "Erminia is one of the most athletic females I have ever come across. She had leadership qualities, desire, attitude and athletic ability that separated her from the rest – all the way to the international level."

In high school, basketball and track were Erminia's sports as she was a provincial MVP in basketball and a star on the track team. However according to volleyball coach Belinski, she was "too good an athlete not to have on the volleyball team." Erminia verified her coach's assessment by becoming a B.C. high school All-Star in this sport as well.

At the half-way point of the 1982/83 season, Russo's first at UBC, the 'Birds volleyball team with six rookies in the lineup, was ranked fourth in the nation. Russo, one of these rookies, was a starter virtually from the beginning, a role she would not relinquish for the rest of her UBC career. Starting on any Varsity team is a rare accomplishment for a rookie. However in Erminia's case it was not a surprise as she had arrived on the UBC scene with very impressive credentials. When recruited by UBC coach Sandy Silver, Erminia was considered the top volleyball player in the province – the number one recruit. In addition, she was a winner of the Premier's Sport Award.

This 82/83 team under coach Silver finished second in Canada West and in the National Championships won their first two games before ending the tournament as the number three-ranked team in the country. In UBC's final victory over Laval at the Nationals, Russo, Tara Senft, Lorna McDonald and Alana Kurz were UBC's stars. Russo, in her first year out of high school, achieved a position on the Canada West first All-Star team, another rare feat. According to coach Silver, Erminia was tremendously strong with a lot of natural ability in both the timing and understanding of the game.

Russo was again a Canada West All-Star in 83/84 as the 'Birds finished second to Saskatchewan in league standings. Her "winning attitude" and "excellent poise" were evident despite her youth. The year culminated with Erminia being acknowledged as one of Canada's best – a selection to the CIAU All-Canadian team.

1984/85, Russo's final year playing at UBC, was again outstanding. She was named to the All-Canadian team again this season despite the fact the Thunderbirds were out of the medals in national rankings. She became the first in UBC women's volleyball to be selected as an All-Canadian twice. Under coach Petr Neveklovsky, Russo was the team leader, co-captaining the team and consistently leading it in game offensive statistics. In fact she was dubbed "The Machine" by her teammates for her uncanny ability to execute and lead the team in "kills".

Although she was outstanding offensively, Russo was a complete player, having played all three positions during her UBC career. In fact coach Silver feels Erminia was a better all-around player than another UBC great, Betty Baxter. "Erminia was strong in all aspects of the game, she played both the front and back really well. Her blocking was great – blocking being the most difficult skill to learn. She is one of the best I've seen, not just coached, but seen."

Russo's play was such that in 1985 she was asked to try out for Canada's National team. She actually had been recruited the year before but was considered too small. She worked on her game and not only made the team in '85 but played for Canada a total of eight years at the same time completing her BPE degree at UBC in 1989. In the eyes of Silver, she was the "quarterback" of the National Team, a real standout. Her play for Canada was climaxed by her appearance in the 1996 Olympics. This Olympic experience was a result of the fact she was actually asked to come back to the National team in '95 after taking time out to play a year of professional volleyball in France, finish second in the '94 Canadian Beach Volleyball championships and serve as head volleyball coach at Western Ontario for two years.

From 1997/98 through 2000 Russo's career was focused on coaching, expressly her new position as head coach of UBC women's volleyball team. Her goal was to maintain UBC volleyball's high profile established by Doug Reimer, whom she assisted in 1996/97. Erminia sensed that one or more of her players looked to her as a role model, particularly from her days with the National team and that she may have had an influence in their decisions to come to UBC. Erminia's former coach Belinski recognized her desire to give back to kids and candidly admitted "I think she is going to do a great job."

As the 1998/99 UBC volleyball season came to a close, Belinski's comments appeared prophetic. Erminia guided her UBC team to the Canada West title and to the Canadian national championship tournament. To top it off, she was honored as Canada West's 1998 Coach of the Year and the CIAU Coach of the Year. In addition, Russo was acknowledged by the UBC Alumni Association with the 1999 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award which recognizes the UBC graduate under 40 whose endeavors have brought most honour to the school.

Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian