Wiebe headed to Belgium
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/09/2022 (1226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Rayvn Wiebe gave everything she had to the Brandon University Bobcats.
And then some. Too injured to train, she battled through 150 attack attempts in three Canada West women’s volleyball playoff matches, then penned a short-but-heartfelt social media post about walking away from volleyball.
But it turns out the Morden product caught her second wind and is headed to Volley Saturnus Michelbeke of Belgium’s Division 2 on a one-year professional contract.
“I had thought about not continuing on and there was some sorrow with that. It was hard to think about not playing any more and so when I got the offer, it was tough to turn down,” Wiebe said.
“… I just want to thank (Bobcats coach) Lee (Carter) and everyone at BU for encouraging me to do this and take this opportunity.
“… Without that excitement and encouragement, it would have been a harder thing to say yes to.”
The six-foot outside hitter left BU with 979 career kills, good for third in program history.
Wiebe extended her science degree for a year to avoid watching her career end due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Her only goal was to make the playoffs. While a revised format essentially guaranteed Brandon a berth, it went 9-7 and scored its first-ever post-season victory against Calgary.
“Playing at BU really did prepare me well, or I hope it prepared me well for playing pro because it was always at the forefront of my mind and always my priority,” Wiebe said. “Now it’s just my priority in a different way. There isn’t the academic portion of it, it’s strictly my main focus and I am excited about that.”
She got a taste of next-level ball at Volleyball Canada’s NextGen tryouts after the season. She pushed through her abdomen injury for the chance to see the nation’s top young talent firsthand. Wiebe marvelled at how she was undersized among the outside hitters, which was seldom the case in Canada West.
“There’s some really talented women out there,” she said, “and it’s honestly inspiring to know we’re in good hands with the ladies we have there.”
Wiebe is taking it year by year for now, comfortable with Europe being a single-season deal but open to more if the right contract comes her way.
“I really am excited to move to Europe and live in such a central part of Europe,” Wiebe said.
“It’s such a unique position to be in, in terms of location and I’m extremely excited to play some volleyball and with some different people.
“I’ve spent six years playing with the same people … playing against the same people and the same teams so to have a different look at that and see how it all goes is also very exciting.”
» tfriesen@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @thomasmfriesen