Team Spotlight: University of Fraser Valley Women’s Volleyball Team

Team: UFV Cascades

School Location: Abbotsford 

Gym: UFV athletic and recreation center

Last Season Record: 19-8

Current Season Record: 11-3
Head Coach & Years Active with Program: Janelle Rozema in her fifth season

Head Coach Previous Team Coached & Role: University of Alberta Pandas Assistant Coach

Notable Athletes from Last Season: Captain + All-Stars & Top Performers Gabrielle Attieh CanadaWest and Usport Player of the Year

Notable Recruits & Transfers: Brooklyn Brodner transfer from College of the Rockies And Mandi Feist 1^st year outside Kelowna heat volleyball club

Highest League Finish: 5th

Committed Recruits for Next Season: Keira Scharfenberg libero Pandas Volleyball Club

Team Leaders:

Kills: Gabrielle Attieh

Assists: Cailin Bitter

Service Aces: Cailin Bitter

Digs: Emily Matsui 

Blocks: Mo Likness

Next Match & Livestream Information: Playoff match vs Grant MacEwan February 23rd. Watch live on Canwesttv

• When did you decide that professional coaching was the path you wanted to pursue? 
  • In grade 6 I vowed to be the first female head coach in the NBA.  Bit of a pivot to USPORTS Volleyball, but I knew I wanted to coach at a high level and make waves for females in coaching.
• What was the first team you were on a coaching staff for, at any level? What lessons did you learn from that experience that have stayed with you?  
  • The year after I was done my eligibility I joined the staff at Briercrest College where I played, and was still finishing up my degree.  That was quite a while ago, but what I would take away from that experience was developing my coaching brain vs my player brain and the differences between the two.
• What notable steps forward has the UFV athletic department taken since moving into uSports to help you and the program succeed?  
  • UFV has taken steps forward by moving all of their teams into USPORTS and creating a unified USPORTS standard amongst all the programs.  Volleyball being the last sport to move up the department has made significant budget and structural changes to make room for another USPORTS program
• Have your interactions with other coaches changed in the last few seasons with your team’s success? 
  • I believe there is a common respect amongst all coaches in the CANADAWEST acknowledging how intense the competition is between all 14 teams.  I may have noticed a slight change in how teams know they have to play their best volleyball against us and we are not to be taken lightly.  I am not sure they knew exactly what they were going to get from the volleyball program at UFV and we have worked hard to make it clear that we are a dangerous opponent.

• Is there a match (win or loss) from the first half of the season in which you were particularly proud of your team
  • Our Saturday match up with UBC tested us.  We felt we under performed on the Friday match the day before vs UBC.  Being able to bounce back from under performing, and against a strong opponent like UBC showed that we can raise our level of play to the highest standard of this league.  It was a constant back and forth battle, and to be able to pull out the win 21-19 in the fifth set showed a lot of maturity, resilience and physical stamina.
• What is one area you feel your team has improved on from last season? 
  • Being able to establish and score points from the middle of the court.  We showed we were one of, if not the best in our pin attacking last season.  Being able to add a middle threat has pushed us forward in our level of competition.

• Which athletes from your program do you feel do not get enough credit or attention for their performance this season, on or off the court? 
  • Always setters.  Our setters work so hard to create good opportunities for our point scoring attackers.  Specifically, I would shout out our double sub setter Kinna Fisher.  Kinna knows how to win, is incredibly talented, and very competitive.  To take on the limited role of a double substitute can be challenging, and Kinna seizes every second she gets on the court to gain advantage for our team.  She has also taken on a bigger role this year when our starting setter Cailin Bitter had sustained several injuries.  

• What message would you have for athletes interested in UFV & the women’s volleyball program? 
  • Reach out!  UFV is another excellent option to add to your list to explore.  UFV can provide you with a quality education to set you up for life and a career.  Our volleyball program has been able to provide the type of training and development both on and off the court to not only be successful at the USPORT level, but at levels beyond University. Abbotsford is a beautiful part of Canada.  Our mid-sized schooling provides more individualized attention from instructors.  You can receive a top-rated education at a very affordable rate.

• Is there anything else about the program that you would like to share with the volleyball world?
  • I am proud to be a female Head Coach at the highest level in Canadian Collegiate sport.  Our program has 1 of only 3 female head coaches in CanadaWest I would really love to see more female athletes beginning to dream and also invest in experiences to potentially lead them down a coaching path once they are finished their careers as an athlete.

• Who should potential recruits contact? Janelle Rozema and Craig Marshall 
  • Janelle.rozema@ufv.ca
  • craigcraigmarshall@gmail.com