VANCOUVER – Former UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball player Jamie Broder made Canadian sporting history on Sunday in Fuzhou, China.
 
Broder, a native of Victoria, B.C., and partner Kristina Valjas of Toronto won the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball Fuzhou Open, finishing the tournament undefeated in seven matches.
 
The victory for Broder and Valjas was Canada's first-ever medal at an International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) tour event.
 
In the final, Broder and Valjas beat the German pair of Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude 21-17, 23-21 to claim gold. They got to the championship match after dispatching the American team of three-time Olympic gold medallist Kerri Walsh and 2012 Olympic silver medal winner April Ross in three sets (28-26, 14-21, 15-13) in the semifinal round.
 
"Gold is the colour - we wouldn't have had it any other way. What a tournament, we battled through a lot of three sets yesterday and today. A lot of really tough opponents so it feels so good to come away on top," Broder said to FIVB.org.
 
Broder played two seasons with UBC after transferring from Nanaimo, B.C.'s Malaspina University College. In her final year of university competition, she helped the Thunderbirds win the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship in 2008, helping the program break a 30-year national title drought. She was one of UBC's stars, finishing 10th in the Canada West in regular season points per set (3.29) and sixth in service aces per set (0.35).
 


"I know I and so many of our current and former T-Birds are thrilled for J. Bro," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "The power of perseverance is so important and she has shown that throughout her career, especially in the last few years on the grind that is the international beach tour. And of course, we are excited for her as she moves forward this year and works to qualify for Rio 2016."

The Fuzhou Open was the first FIVB tournament of the season. It also commences the Olympic qualification window for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. 
 
"It's a great starting-off point, I mean first tournament of the year and we're in Olympic qualification, it's awesome to have such a strong start and I think it's just something we can continue to build on and use to feel confidence for future events," said Broder of the win at Fuzhou. 
 
- with files from FIVB.org