VANCOUVER – A defensive dynamo all season long for the UBC Thunderbirds, fourth-year
Kacey Jost has been named the 2022-23 Canada West Libero of the Year.
Handed out for the first time since the 2014-15 season, Jost is the first Thunderbird to win the award since Claire Hanna in 2010.
"Kacey without question anchored our passing and our back court play throughout the season," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "Defensively, she was critical to team success and she does a terrific job managing all our patterns in a key aspect of the game."
Amassing 337 total digs on the season for an average of 4.01 per set, the St. Albert, Alberta product allowed just 18 service aces against through 84 sets during the regular season.
Given the consistent quality of opposition faced by the T-Birds in the toughest conference in the country, Jost's performance on the court is perhaps outmatched only by that of her impact to her team off of it.
"She has a big heart and she's always willing to lend an ear or a hand to a teammate when they need it," added UBC assistant coach
Jodi Zbyszewski. "She's very invested in her teammates. On the court and off the court she brings competitiveness, she comes to practice to get better. She asks questions and is always learning and that rubs off on her teammates. She can up the level of practices and makes everyone around her better."
Playing every match this season, Jost helped limit the opposition to an average .130 hitting percentage.
While the Canada West post-season for Jost and the T-Birds ended abruptly with a quarter-final loss to Manitoba, the team is taking a positive approach to having extra time to gear up for the U SPORTS National Championship hosted by UBC at War Memorial Gym starting next Friday, March 17.
"Obviously we're not in the position the team wanted to be in at this point, you want to earn your way to nationals, not through the host berth," Reimer conceded. "Having said that, we had a long, grinding season and there is definitely a silver lining to getting back into the training gym. We have a deep group so we can train and compete well against each other and I have no doubt we can be just as – or even maybe more – well prepared come March 17."
Tickets for the first Women's Volleyball National Championship on the west coast in 40 years
are on sale now.
