Local volleyball powerhouse Jordan Denham has been named the Alberta College Athletics League female athlete of the year.
Denham, who is playing for the Ambrose Lions at Ambrose University College in Calgary, was gearing up to play in the Western Championships in Olds when she spoke to the Province on Nov. 29.
She said she found out she'd been named female athlete of the year after playing in the league's gold medal game Nov. 17, where the Lions defeated the Prairie Pilots in a hard-fought five-set match.
“That was super exciting. I felt very privileged,” she said of being honoured with the title. Denham was also named the Grade 12 female athlete of the year in June for Innisfail Jr./Sr. High school.
The 18-year-old athlete plays power, which is the position at the front left of the net. She said she also plays in the back row.
During the ACAL finals she had 53 “kills,” leading her team. “Kills” are hits in volleyball where the opposing team only manages one block or none before the ball hits the floor.
“It's pretty good. I think it was third in the league,” she said of her standings.
She's been playing for school teams since about Grade 7, but she said she first got interested in the sport because of a family game in the backyard.
“I just fell in love with it,” she said.
In addition to playing for Innisfail's teams, she would extend her season by playing for the Queens club team run by Red Deer College.
To get onto the Ambrose Lions' team, she had to go through three tryouts where a couple of dozen other hopefuls were cut. She said her team is very close-knit and encourages each other.
Playing at the college level isn't that much different from high school, she said. She still practises about two to three times a week but there are less tournaments, she said.
She's planning on joining a co-ed league in her second semester so she can keep playing. She's also looking forward to Ambrose moving up into the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference in two years, which will extend the volleyball season as well.
Joining the team has helped her settle into her new post-secondary life, where she's currently doing general studies.
“It's pretty exciting, it's helped me meet people,” she said. “It's a really good environment.”
The women Lions made it into the playoffs at the tournament but were stopped from going all the way to the finals by the Olds' varsity squad.
