For Julie Moore, playing U SPORTS volleyball in Toronto was really never in the cards.
A product of Halifax, she grew up in and around the Dalhousie University Tigers program, where her mother Karen served as the athletic director until 2014. She learned the game from her mother, who spent time as the women’s volleyball head coach for the Tigers — a position she took on after representing Canada at the 1984 Olympic Games and completing her own career as a student-athlete at Dalhousie.
After Julie graduated from Citadel High School in Halifax, following in her mom’s footsteps to the Tigers was inevitable. She signed with Dalhousie — a measly two kilometre walk from her alma mater — and ultimately donned the same number-seven Karen wore as a Tiger.
In four years with the program, Julie made her own impact at Dalhousie. She was a four-time AUS All-Star and helped the Tigers reach the U SPORTS National Championship in every one of her four seasons.
All along, the plan for Julie was to be a five-year Tiger — just like her mother was. But with the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling the entirety of the 2020-21 U SPORTS season, athletes across the country were presented with an extra year of eligibility. In the midst of her fourth-year in Halifax, she began to explore her options.
TMU’s Masters of Arts in Fashion — a one of a kind program in the country — immediately caught her eye.
She sat down and began crafting a carefully worded email to Bold women’s volleyball head coach Dustin Reid, outlining her interest in coming to Toronto, prefacing the message by introducing herself and where she plays — just incase Reid was not already familiar with the two-time U SPORTS All-Canadian.
“He was like ‘No, I know who you are,'” said Moore. “That was really nice to hear.”
“That’s not a name you expect to see in your inbox,” admitted Reid. “It was a really pleasant surprise. We knew what a quality person and player she was — it was the kind of thing you wait to happen for your team”
Moore was in the Dalplex, the home of the Dalhousie Tigers women’s volleyball team, in Halifax, N.S. when the email she had hoped for popped up on her phone. She was accepted into the Masters of Fashion.
“I was so excited,” said Moore.
After completing her commerce degree in marketing at Dalhousie, Moore felt she wanted to explore a creative side that she didn’t get to during her undergraduate studies. It’s been an experience she’s loved so far. She’s discovered a passion for sustainability in fashion and mulled completing her major research project on the sexualization of female athletes.
While she is unsure of where her current path will lead her— whether it be a career in fashion or time playing professionally in Europe — Moore is enjoying the here and the now. And the Bold are reaping the rewards.
She’s been a driving force in the team’s rejuvenation. Since Nov. 12, TMU is 7-2. The team is 5-1 on home court entering this weekend. They are winners of four-straight matches and currently sit in fifth in the OUA — a far cry from last season’s 3-10 campaign. Having been relied upon often and early by Reid, Moore ranks fifth in the conference in kills with 118. Among players with at least 255 attacks, her .228 hitting percentage ranks second in the OUA.
Moore’s impact on the Bold women’s volleyball team has been instant and in some ways, immeasurable. Her impact goes far beyond the boxscore.
After handing the McMaster Marauders their first loss of the season this November, second-year Scarlett Gingera was asked about Moore, who registered 18 kills in a four-set win.
“She’s so good. I look up to her so much. She’s so supportive on the court. She’s the one person I come to when I’m struggling. She’s such a good teammate,” said Gingera.
“She’s an extremely kind and respectful person,” said Reid. “She has an extremely high level of professionalism as a student-athlete — it’s something you don’t see every day.”
“It’s an honour to coach her — as good of a player as she is and as great of a career she has had, she’s probably a better person. That’s not something you can say often about someone.”
While this season has been Moore’s first with the team — her official introduction to the program came back in her first-year when the Tigers paid a visit to the Mattamy Athletic Centre for exhibition games during the December break. Later that season, she was in the crowd when the program captured the university’s first-ever U SPORTS national championship in Quebec City, Que., with a four-set win over the Alberta Pandas.
“I was like ‘Woah,'” said Moore. “They had a cheering section — I was like ‘This school is so cool.'”
Six years later, Moore hopes when the 2023 U SPORTS national championship arrives this March, she’ll be on the court in Vancouver with a similar student section in the stands.
“All we’re trying to do is peak in March,” said Moore.
Moore and the Bold are back in action this weekend as they look to extend their four-game winning streak. TMU is set to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday and Saturday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. both nights.