BU Bobcats sign Kamloops attacker Alexa Parken

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This article was published 30/03/2024 (734 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alexa Parken can’t wait to join the Brandon University Bobcats and find a warmup partner as consistent as the one she had four years ago.

“During COVID, I spent a lot of time playing volleyball by myself,” she said. “I did a lot of repetition, serving against the wall, passing to myself against the wall.

“I think that’s where I really started to improve because I was putting in so much work I guess other people weren’t.”

This work is paying off, as Parken is the third Bobcats recruit for the 2024-25 Canada West women’s volleyball season.

The Kamloops, B.C., product considered a few colleges and Ontario universities, but Brandon stood out as a smaller university to have closer relationships with the science professors as she majors in biology, and most importantly, she felt welcomed and included by her future teammates during her campus visit.

When it comes to the team’s relationship with its community, the Bobcats closely resemble Parken’s hometown Thompson Rivers WolfPack, as they draw some impressive crowds and like BU, have played afternoon matches with the stands full of school kids.

“I always went to WolfPack volleyball games and I still went almost every time they had a home game [last season]. There’s a whole bunch of community involvement and I think that’s something I was looking for in a school,” Parken said.

The five-foot-11 outside hitter/middle blocker started playing volleyball in Grade 7 and it quickly became her primary sport. She made a club roster the following year, then took the COVID-19 pandemic as her chance to develop her individual skills as much as possible.

During her Grade 11 year, she made the 18U Kamloops Volleyball Association squad.

“Making that 18U team was really good for me because there were a lot of girls that were super good, that I looked up to for most of the time I was playing and actually got to play with them,” Parken said.

A few things stand out when watching Parken’s highlight reel on YouTube. It starts with a powerful kill on an out-of-system ball, meaning her setter had to scramble off the net and set a high ball, giving the blockers plenty of time to build a wall in front of the attacker. It didn’t matter. Parken cranked it over their heads for a kill.

This sort of play was commonplace this year as Parken led Riverview Secondary School to the Kamloops city title.

She brings a heavy arm to the Bobcats and is working diligently to improve her serve receive and defence. Parken joins libero Eva Dooks and outside hitter Emma Witkowski in a rookie class poised to push the starters and potentially see court time sooner, rather than later.

“I’m super excited,” Parken said. “I was struggling to make a decision where I wanted to go but I’m super happy I ended up picking Brandon.

“It’s sort of a relief because I spent so much time going through all the recruiting processes and I’m super happy with my decision.”

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