The University of British Columbia Athletics

REGINA (CIS) – Lisa Barclay, a fourth-year outside hitter from the reigning six-time national champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, was named CIS player of the year in women's volleyball, Thursday evening.
 
A native of Brandon, Man., Barclay keeps the Mary Lyons Award in the UBC family for the fifth consecutive season. She follows in the footsteps of former teammates Shanice Marcelle (2013, 2011) and Kyla Richey (2012), as well as Liz Cordonier (2010).
 
This marks the second longest such streak in CIS history, in any sport. The Winnipeg Wesmen - also in women's volleyball - had seven straight MVPs from 1983 to 1989.
 
Other major award winners announced during the All-Canadian Reception held at the Regina Casino Show Lounge were Montreal setter Katia Forcier, who captured the Mark Tennant Award as CIS rookie of the year; Brandon's Donata Huebert, who earned top-libero honours for the second time; Memorial's Adrienne Penney, who merited the Thérèse Quigley Award for her excellence in volleyball, academics and community service; as well as Brandon head coach Lee Carter, who received the Marilyn Pomfret Award.
 
The 2014 CIS championship, presented by SGI CANADA, kicks off Friday at University of Regina and culminates Sunday at 6 p.m. Central Time with the gold-medal final. All 11 games from the eight-team competition will be webcast live in HD on www.CIS-SIC.tv.   
 
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/index
 
MARY LYONS AWARD (player of the year): Lisa Barclay, UBC
 
Barclay, the 10th Thunderbird overall to claim the Mary Lyons Award, was the offensive catalyst for a UBC team that was ranked No. 1 in the country for the entire campaign.

The 6-foot-2 senior led CIS in kills (4.26) and points (4.99) per set in league play, her-point-per-game average being the highest in Canada West in seven years. The kinesiology student also finished sixth in the conference in service aces (0.37 per set) and chipped in defensively with 211 digs, only six off the team lead. Thanks to her stellar play, she earned first-team all-star status in both Canada West and CIS for the second straight season.
 
Barclay has helped the T-Birds win the CIS title in each of her first three campaigns with the team and was voted MVP of the last two national championships.

Internationally, she is a mainstay with Canada's senior national team, having represented the country in numerous events, such as the Pan American Cup and the 2013 Summer Universiade, over the past couple of years.
 
"This award couldn't go to a more likable and humble player. Lisa has grown as a leader on our team through her performance and her hard work on and off the court. She's a dedicated student-athlete as she has earned Academic All-Canadian status as well," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "She stepped up so many times for us throughout the year with incredible offensive performances. Her ability to consistently deliver shows how much she has developed and built consistently. But she has helped lead us back to the CIS championship as well with her serving and back court play to go along with many highlight reel kills."
 
The other finalists for the Mary Lyons Award were Dalousie middle Maggie Li, Sherbrooke middle Roxane Hasseni and Ottawa left side Myriam English.


 
MARK TENNANT AWARD (rookie of the year): Katia Forcier, Montreal
 
Forcier, who hails from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is the third Montreal player to receive the Tennant Award after current teammate Marie-Sophie Nadeau (2011) and former Olympian Josée Corbeil (1993).
 
In her university debut, the 5-foot-10 setter quarterbacked the most efficient offence in the country as the Carabins maintained a CIS-best .229 hitting percentage. The 20-year-old audiology student averaged 9.08 assists per set in league play, tops in the Quebec conference and good for eighth in the nation. She also excelled at the service line with 31 aces, while chipping in at the net with 36 blocks and on defence with 125 digs.   
 
Named a second-team RSEQ all-star, Forcier helped the Carabins return to the top of the conference standings thanks to a 15-4 record, following a third-place finish a year ago. She joined the U of M after a stellar CEGEP career with Collège de Bois-de-Boulogne.
 
"Katia is well deserving of this honour," said Montreal bench boss Olivier Trudel. "She showed a lot of poise and talent on the court as a freshman. She's still learning and has many great seasons in front of her with the Carabins."
 
Saint Mary's left side Rachel Windhorst, Guelph left side Madison DeDecker and Regina setter Leah Shevkenek were also in the running for the Tennant Award.
 
LIBERO OF THE YEAR: Donata Huebert, Brandon
 
A native of Minden, Germany, Huebert was also named CIS libero of the year in her only previous season in Canada, in 2010-11.
 
The 5-foot-9 international player ranked fifth in Canada West in league play with an average of 3.64 digs per set. On January 22 against Winnipeg, she established a team record with 35 digs, the most in a four-set Canada West match since 2007.
 
Her dominance in the back court helped the Bobcats finish with a remarkable 17-5 conference mark, the best in the program's nine-year history. For her efforts, Huebert was named a first-team all-Canadian, a rare feat for a libero.
 
"Donata has been a leader since the day she arrived in Brandon," said head coach Lee Carter. "She's done a real good job of teaching our young athletes how to be professional and how to respect the sport. I think the recognition she's getting is well deserved. Nobody trains harder than her. She's the type of athlete that makes everyone around her better."
 
The other nominees were Saint Mary's Anastasia Callaghan, McGill's Daphnée-Maude André-Morin and Guelph's Kristen Almhjell.
 
MARILYN POMFRET AWARD (coach of the year): Lee Carter, Brandon
 
Prior to joining the Bobcats for their inaugural campaign in 2005-06, Carter was coach of the year with Grand Prairie Regional College in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) in 2002-03.
 
This season, he operated a remarkable turnaround with the 'Cats as the team improved from an 8-14 mark a year ago to a 17-5 record, the best in program history, good for second place in the ultra-competitive Canada West conference. Brandon also reached its best-ever national ranking in 2013-14, at No. 2, including each of the last five weekly coaches' polls.
 
Statistically, the Bobcats ranked among the best teams in the country in a number of categories, including third in hitting percentage (.216) and assists per set (11.82), as well as fourth in blocking (2.79 per set).
 
"I'm very happy for Lee. He's put in a lot of hard work, in particular this year, and has found a way to get the most out of his team. They delivered great performances throughout the year," said BU athletic director Russ Paddock. "His group has worked very hard over the past year to get better and Lee played a big role in the leadership and development of that mind-set to try to be the best."
 
UNB's Jilliane Goulet, Montreal's Olivier Trudel and Toronto's Kristine Drakich were also up for coach-of-the-year honours.
 
THÉRÈSE QUIGLEY AWARD (volleyball, academics & community service): Adrienne Penney, Memorial
 
Penney is the first student-athlete from Memorial to receive the Thérèse Quigley Award since its inception in 1994.
 
On the court, the fourth-year power hitter played in all 16 league games and all 60 sets this season. She was fourth overall in the AUS conference in block assists with 36, seventh in total blocks (50) and seventh in blocks per set (0.83).
 
The pharmacy student from St. John's is currently serving as past president of the MUN Pharmacy Society and has led and taken part in many pharmacy advancement events such as Pharmacy Awareness Week. She has been a pharmacy yearbook committee member and editor for the past four years and is serving as a grad committee member for 2014.
 
Penney has also taken part in numerous fundraising events for charity including the AIDS Walk for Life, CIBC Run for the Cure, the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life, as well as the Christmas Families initiative. She led and coordinated the Home for Dinner program for the Ronald McDonald House this past February and sold bracelets to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation at Memorial's Go Pink event in January.
 
Further to her fundraising activities, Penney has been involved in the local community through coaching and participating in development camps for junior high and high school students with the Memorial volleyball team each summer.
 
"Adrienne is an outstanding student who's just completing her pharmacy degree and will start her career in New Brunswick in May," said Memorial head coach Bill Thistle. "She has been an outstanding leader for the Sea-Hawks and the pharmacy school. She has a beautiful heart, a mature mind and has a positive impact on all she's touched. We will miss her, but we know that our loss will be someone else's gain."
 
The other finalists were McMaster's Amanda Weldon and Mount Royal's Julia Pasieka.
 
ALL-CANADIAN TEAMS
 
The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Thursday.
 
Joining Barclay and Huebert on the first CIS squad were Dalhousie middle Maggie Li, Sherbrooke middle Roxane Hasseni and Ottawa left side Myriam English, all named MVP in their respective conference this season, as well as outside hitters Marie-Sophie Nadeau of Montreal and Sophie Carpentier of Trinity Western.
 
Barclay and Hasseni are the lone returnees from last year's first unit, while Li and Nadeau were second-team all-stars 12 months ago. Hasseni was also named to the second squad in 2012, while Nadeau, a former CIS rookie of the year, was selected as an all-Canadian for the fourth time in as many university campaigns, including a pair of first-team nods (2014, 2012).
 
The second dream team for 2013-14 is comprised of outside hitters Desiree Ates of Regina, Meg Casault of Alberta and Rosie Schlagintweit of UBC, right sides Esther Gilbert of Laval and Kelsie English of Ottawa, left side Charlotte Sider of Toronto and libero Daphnée-Maude André-Morin of McGill.
 
In addition to Forcier, the CIS all-rookie list includes left sides Madison DeDecker of Guelph, Rachel Windhorst of Saint Mary's and Vaovai Aiono of Brandon, outside hitter Sarah Ross of Acadia, right side Tessa Davis of Toronto and setter Leah Shevkenek of Regina.
 
2013-2014 CIS WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
 
Mary Lyons Award (player of the year): Lisa Barclay, UBC
Mark Tennant Award (rookie of the year): Katia Forcier, Montreal
Libero of the year: Donata Huebert, Brandon
Marilyn Pomfret Award (coach of the year): Lee Carter, Brandon
Thérèse Quigley Award (volleyball, academics & community service): Adrienne Penney, Memorial
 
First Team
 
Position    Athlete                        University       Year    Hometown                  Faculty
 
OH            Lisa Barclay                 UBC                4          Brandon, Man.             Kinesiology
LIB            Donata Huebert           Brandon           2          Minden, Germany        Physical Education
M              Maggie Li                     Dalhousie        3          Beijing, China              Commerce
OH            Marie-Sophie Nadeau  Montreal          4          St-Aimé, Que.              Open Studies
LS             Myriam English            Ottawa             4          Orleans, Ont.               Social Sciences
M              Roxane Hasseni           Sherbrooke      3          Paris, France                Political Science
OH            Sophie Carpentier        TWU                2          Ottawa, Ont.                Psychology     


 
Second Team
 
LS             Charlotte Sider             Toronto            4          Ottawa, Ont.                Kinesiology
OH            Desiree Ates                Regina             5          Regina, Sask.               Nursing
RS             Esther Gilbert               Laval               4          St-Come-Liniere, Que. Education
RS             Kelsie English              Ottawa             4          Orleans, Ont.               Social Sciences
OH             Meg Casault                 Alberta             2          Edmonton, Alta.          PE & Recreation
OH             Rosie Schlagintweit      UBC                4          Abbotsford, B.C.         Arts
LIB             Daphnée-Maude André-Morin McGill             4          Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac, Que.     Education



All-Rookie Team
 
S               Katia Forcier                Montreal          1          St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.    Audiology
S               Leah Shevkenek          Regina             1          Calgary, Alta.               Kinesiology & HS
LS             Madison DeDecker      Guelph             1          Dorchester, Ont.          Human Kinetics
LS             Rachel Windhorst        Saint Mary's    1          Surrey, B.C.                 Arts
OH            Sarah Ross                   Acadia             1          Toronto, Ont.               Arts
RS/M        Tessa Davis                 Toronto            1           Surrey, B.C.       International Relations
LS             Vaovai Aiono              Brandon           1          Auckland, New Zealand    Physical Education
 
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