WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: LAKERS SEE DOUBLE WITH ADDITIONS OF HANNIVAN SISTERS

The Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball team is a day away from an OUA Playoff matchup against the Queen’s Gaels.

But that hasn’t stopped them from continuing to build the program and bolster the roster, as they have made a splash with the signing of Addison and Alexandra Hannivan.

The Lakers are excited and proud to announce the addition of the twins, who will join the program for the 2024-25 OUA season.

Making their way to the Lakers from the London Volleyball Club, both Addison and Alexandra also spent time playing for the 18U HP Inferno and Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School.

“I always strive for consistency, and I’m committed to team goals over individual accomplishments,” Addison said. “I am reliable and accountable to myself and teammates/coaches and contribute positively to level of play in both practice and game situations.”

Alexandra added she brings her own set of skills to the mix.

“I always try remain positive, dedicated to the improvement of myself and I’m focused on increasing the technical and tactical knowledge of the game,” she said. “My strengths are composure, athleticism, diversity, motivated, competitive and supportive.”

Both student-athletes will be enrolling in the BPHE program, with their sights set on the education program at Nipissing.

They both believe Nipissing is a great fit for them, both academically and athletically.

“The team Culture, size of the school and the outdoor activities,” Addison said of the reason she was attracted to Nipissing.

“It was a warm, welcoming environment,” Alexandra said. “They have a cohesive group of athletes/coaches and I’m looking forward to the new experience of living away from home.”

Both athletes also earned some hardware at the high school level, as well as a few other accolades prior to making the jump to the OUA/USports.

The Hannivan sisters grabbed OFSAA Bronze, were members of the Team Ontario Beach team, as well as the Academy for Student Athlete Development Program (ASAD) and Specialist High Skills Major.

Lakers head coach Marc LaRochelle is excited about the addition of the Hannivan sisters and believes they will both add key ingredients to the makeup of the program’s roster moving forward.

“I am very excited to welcome Addy and Ally to the Lakers family,” LaRochelle said. “I was very impressed with their individual skill sets which are a little different, however, mutually complimentary to what we are building on-court at Nipissing.

“Under the coaching of Sean Pellow over the past several years Addy and Ally have matured and developed into very consistent and reliable players,” he added. “They are very competitive, open to continuous growth, but most importantly, they understand and live the values of being good teammates first which is the most important aspect of our team culture.”