Four Bobcats earn national volleyball honours

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This article was published 03/03/2011 (5543 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LANGLEY, B.C. — Donata Huebert wanted to be in Quebec City this week. She just had hoped her teammates would be joining her.

Nevertheless, the freshman libero for the Brandon University women’s volleyball team has something to celebrate after she was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport libero of the year at the annual awards banquet Wednesday during the national championship week.

Huebert, a product of Minden, Germany, flew to Quebec City for the all-star banquet that precedes the eight-team women’s nationals that begin Friday on the University of Laval campus. The Bobcats hoped to make that tournament, but a first-round exit eliminated that chance. Huebert, however, was happy to accept the honour.

"I think it’s a cool award and you feel very proud when you get recognized for your hard work," Huebert said from Quebec City. "(The season) was very successful, I think, for me personally. I would have loved to have made more than playoffs, of course, but I’ve had a lot of great experiences in Canada. It’s great to play in that league. It’s very competitive and I was really surprised that I got this prize, because you don’t think you’re going to get recognized."

Huebert, who played in every set this season, was second in the Canada West conference in digs per set at 3.92 and her 259 total digs helped Brandon finish third in Canada West in that category.

Huebert was part of a record haul in national awards for the women’s team. Fifth-year senior left side Teagan Hunter was named a second-team all-Canadian — her first such honour — and middle blocker Meaghan Robertson was named to the national all-rookie team.

Hunter finished her career in the top 10 in Canada West history in kills, notching 194 this season to go along with 205 digs, 29 aces and 248.5 points, which was third in the Canada West.

Robertson, meanwhile, started the season off hot and finished with 152 kills while attacking at a .256 rate, which was seventh in the conference and best among freshmen. She also led the team in blocks with 51.

Meanwhile, halfway across the country, another Bobcat was being recognized yet again. Fifth-year senior left side Paul Sanderson was named a first-team all-Canadian at the men’s national tournament in Langley, his fourth all-Canadian award in four years in Brandon. The Melbourne, Australia, native actually eclipsed the record-setting marks he put together last season when he was named the national player of the year.

His 364 kills, 5.28 kills per set and 6.0 points per set all led the nation and were all better than a year prior. Additionally this season, Sanderson, who has made the first-team all-stars three years in a row, became the all-time Canada West leader in kills, kills per set, aces, aces per set and points in a career.

BU head coach Lee Carter said long before Huebert arrived in Brandon that she would change the Bobcats for the better and he believes not only did her play on the court do that, but she helped to improve the culture of the squad as well from a defensive perspective.

"I think Donata brought a whole new level of experience to our team," Carter said. "Her professional experience and ability to train daily and wanna be in the gym more carried over to a lot of our other players.

"Donata was able to dig more balls than we originally had seen people do and that transferred into us wanting to dig more and get to more balls."

Carter was undoubtedly proud of seeing three of his players recognized on a national scale.

"We’ve known that we’ve had been able to recruit quality kids," he said, "and that’s important to get that recognition for the hard work that the team does and it’s something that reflects on the rest of the team."

The season, of course, didn’t end the way any of the Bobcats wanted, least of all Hunter, who wrapped up a fine five-year career as one of the most prolific attackers in Canada West history but never got to go to a national tournament. She is the first all-Canadian in the BU women’s program’s history.

"I definitely think it’s kinda cool to be the first, however, I don’t really like how it had to be in my fifth year," she said.

"It’ll definitely be something cool to look back on when I’m older. It’s an honour, for sure, to just be a Canada West all-star, but also Canadian and for myself and the two others, it’s a nice reward to end the season."

Hunter, who will graduate as one of the top five attackers and top 10 in digs in conference history, also spoke highly of what the three awards mean for the program in general.

"I guess it puts Brandon University higher on the Richter scale and it just proves that BU has the talent and potential to do great things in the future," said Hunter, who finished with 1,010 kills for her career after converting to left side from being a middle at Crocus Plains. "Those girls being young first-year players, they mean a lot to the women’s volleyball team. There’s obviously going to be other great players up and coming, but it sets a high standard."