The Sea-Hawks Volleyball team heads to Ottawa to compete in the annual Gee-Gee's Preseason Classic.
This prestigious tournament features some of the top teams from across the country from each conference. The Classic spans three days, from Friday September 28 to Sunday September 30, and showcases ten teams. The Sea-Hawks are guaranteed at least four games before playoffs, with matchups against the University of Guelph, University of Toronto, Université de Sherbrooke, and Université de Montreal. For the past four years that the Sea-Hawks have been competing in this tournament, every year they have placed in the top five.
This year the Sea-Hawks roster includes a record high of young players - seven first years, five second years, and two third and fourth years. The tournament will be a good test to see if Head Coach John Slauenwhite can shape and lift his young team to AUS and national standards in such a short amount of time.
Coach Slauenwhite speaks very highly of his squad, "This group is very exciting to work with and are eager to learn. We have been competing well at practice and are ready to see where we are as a group this weekend in Ottawa".
Third year Belle De Vries has the most experience on the team going into this tournament. She will be a leader for the Sea-Hawks and says "I think this tournament will be a good indicator on what our team needs to improve on prior to league starting. I want to walk away from the tournament feeling like we were invested in putting what we have been working on in practice into game play. It isn't about winning right now, it is about trusting in the process".
First year Hannah Portraz is excited to carry out her lifelong dream of playing volleyball at the University level and maintains that "we should expect to learn a lot from this tournament, as well as expect to work hard for every point of every game. This weekend being our first preseason games of the year will give us a foundation to build on for the rest of the season. We will come back from this weekend as we will every other weekend hungry for more touches, ready to give 110% in practices, always looking to be that little bit better. Better than we were last month, last week, better than yesterday".
The Sea-Hawks will be missing one of last year's key players, Emma Hackett, due to a shoulder injury. Hackett has last year's second highest points per set average for Memorial, and was ranked 14th overall in the AUS standings. Hackett is "restless to be in a competition environment outside of practice, and is excited to watch the team and see how we all play together in a real game". Hackett will hopefully be returning to the court in the next few weeks.
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