鈥淭he kids call them the 鈥�volleycult,鈥欌�� said Chris Ruse, the head coach of the senior York House Tigers who will graduate the best volleyball players the school has ever seen, including the first ones recruited to the NCAA and the CIS-championship program at the University of B.C. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clearly our most talented squad ever,鈥� said Ruse, of the players who are also good friends and finished fourth in the province. 鈥淢y biggest hope is that I鈥檒l lose them for a few years and then have them come back to coach and continue leading.鈥澨�
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Dayna Kern
PAST: York House Tigers and BCO club
FUTURE: NCAA Div. 1 University of Tulane Green Wave
Arriving at York House from Heritage Woods secondary for her senior year, Kern was already recognized as one of the best U18 players in the country. 鈥淚 had the pleasure of playing and getting completely stuffed by Dayna during club season,鈥� said Matheson. 鈥淭hat girl puts up a big and well-placed block, and no outside hitter wants to face that.鈥�
The six-foot-three middle hitter was named the best blocker at the Western Canadian independent school championship, which the Tigers won, and her stacked BCO team also won the national club championship this winter in Calgary.
One title that didn鈥檛 land was the B.C. AA high school championship. 鈥淎fter we had lost our semi-final and then our bronze [game], the team was pretty depressed,鈥� said Finan. 鈥淒ayna just broke the silence and thanked the team for welcoming her and for making such wonderful memories over the course of the term. It was so touching and really helped to put things in perspective.鈥�
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Laura Worsley
PAST: York House Tigers and Thunder club
FUTURE: CIS University of B.C. Thunderbirds
At five-foot-eight, the Tigers鈥� libero and setter is a remarkably gifted athlete who could star in her own Nike commercial, given the way her teammates and coaches praise her talents.听 Of the foursome, Worsley says she is also the most competitive. Anyone who has seen her play will agree, said Matheson. 鈥淗er consistent dedication shows everyone on the court how much she is willing to sacrifice for her team, willing the rest of us to work just as hard. Laura consistently gives her heart and soul to the sport every game, every set, and every point.鈥�
Not all serious, however, Finan, her T-birds teammate for the next five years, reveals, 鈥淪he has an unending list of quirks 鈥� she collects hotel keys and unicorns and loves Bon Jovi. She's also going to hate me for revealing anything personal about her.鈥�
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Kaleigh Matheson
PAST: York House Tigers and Thunder club
FUTURE: CIS University of Western Ontario Mustangs
In the hallways at York House, 鈥渋t isn鈥檛 hard to spot the volleyball players,鈥� said the five-foot-11 left-side hitter. 鈥淲e are always standing together, about a foot higher than everyone else.鈥� The 鈥渧olleycult鈥� nickname stuck because each is 鈥渃ompletely entranced by the sport,鈥� she said. 鈥淐ult isn鈥檛 such a far stretch when it describes the kinship among our teammates. We had an unbelievable season, and that was a result of the trust earned by our closeness.鈥� (She and Finan have the same singular middle name, Honor.)
Matheson was new to the sport when she tried out and 鈥� now etched in school legend 鈥� caught the first pass that came her way. Her development is also legendary. 鈥淚 remember one game Kaleigh was playing incredibly so I set her pretty much every ball because the other team could not stop her,鈥� said Worsley. 鈥淵ou could tell that she had the potential to be amazing.鈥�
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Siobhan Finan
PAST: York House Tigers and Thunder club
FUTURE: CIS University of B.C. Thunderbirds
An entertaining storyteller with a far-reaching sense of community, Finan is 鈥渂lessed with height and heart,鈥� in the words of Matheson. Her coach and teammates agreed she is the funniest on the team and tells hilarious, 鈥渃ompletely ridiculous鈥� stories. Plus, said Worsley, 鈥淭here are so many things that Siobhan can do that no one else could.鈥�
The six-foot-one right-side hitter who coaches skiing at Whistler and volleyball in the summer, Finan has 鈥渆mpathy and creativity to spare,鈥� said Ruse. Her tenure with the Tigers is not likely over and, as she put it like only she could, she鈥檚 already left impressions at the school. 鈥淚 hope I helped to inspire a love for the sport within the York House community because that's the biggest part of the game for me, I just absolutely love playing,鈥� said Finan, 鈥渁nd managing to spill yogurt on every jersey I've used 鈥� so figuratively and literally 鈥� I like to think I've made my mark.鈥�
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