A Standard volleyball player has proven she is at the top of her game at the Canada Games, winning silver in the beach volleyball competition.
Kathryn Moncks, with her partner, Raynell Lavertu, who are also teammates at the University of Calgary, were undefeated all week at the games in Prince Edward Island. Their dominance came to an end in the final as the British Columbia team won two straight sets 21-16, 21-16. The team of Moncks/Lavertu has played together for three years.
“It was a real heartbreaker because we started the tournament really strong and went really strong until the final,” Kathryn said. “We had such a great week, we have to look at the week as a whole.”
She says despite the loss the team played some incredible volleyball, and came up against a British Columbia team.
“They were really on their
game,” Kathryn said. “We had slow starts at the beginning of both sets, and came back and battled, but in the final, it was too little too late”.
Her mother Susan and father Randy attended to watch Kathryn compete.
“They played some amazing and outstanding volleyball. There is just no question, they put it all together,” said Susan. “We talked to the B.C coach and he said this was the best match his team had ever put together in their whole career.”
Kathryn comes from a hotspot of volleyball. It is difficult to remember when the last time the Standard Rams did not win the 1A provincial trophy. She was involved with three championship Standard teams before she graduated and joined the University of Calgary Dinos squad. The kinesiology student, in her three years as a Dino, has been a part of two CIS bronze winning team and one silver medal team.
Kathryn says now she is getting back into indoor volleyball mode and will play out the season as a Dino. After that she hopes to continue playing beach volleyball after her collegiate career is finished.
“We’ll see after the season, see how it goes,” said Kathryn.
“There are opportunities to play in California and there is the national team program in Canada,” she said. “There is big money in the tournaments in the United States with the FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) tours, but it takes a lot to get into, and you really have to commit. It is a big leap to make it in the beach volleyball world, but if you can make it to the top, it is worth it.”
