Four Huskies selected as AUS Volleyball All-Stars, Russell named Coach of the Year
Four Huskies - Olivia Bell, Megan Bruhm, Bethany Smith and Jakobie Friesen - have been named 2021-22 AUS Volleyball All-Stars, and Coach Darren Russell has been named AUS Coach of the Year.
See full details in the below release from Atlantic University Sport.
2021-22 AUS women's volleyball major award winners and all-stars announced
(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2021-22 AUS women's volleyball all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's six head coaches following regular season play.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Taylor Collombin, Acadia University
Taylor Collombin, an outside hitter with the Acadia Axewomen, has been named the AUS' most valuable player.
A science student from Victoria, British Columbia, Collombin finished the season leading the AUS in kills (239), kills per set (3.79), points (280.5) and points per set (4.5); She has the third-most kills and points in the country. Collombin also recorded the fourth-most solo blocks in the AUS (16) and the third-most digs (215).
She appeared in 15 matches for the Axewomen this season, helping to lead her team to a 10-5 record and second place in the regular-season standings. In addition to being selected as the AUS MVP, Collombin earns a place on the AUS first team all-star squad.
She is the second Acadia player to be named the AUS MVP, following Lori Beth MacEwan who took home the award in 2003-04. Collombin now looks to become the third AUS player to win the national player of the year award since Dalhousie's Courtney Baker (2019-20) and Karin Maessen (1981-82).
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Melissa Hatfield, Memorial University (Kristen Ryan Memorial Award)
Memorial Sea-Hawks outside hitter Melissa Hatfield has been selected as the 2021-22 recipient of the Kristen Ryan Memorial Award for AUS rookie of the year.
Playing in 14 matches and 47 sets for the Sea-Hawks, Hatfield averaged 2.60 kills per set and 3.0 points per set, for a total of 140.5 points in the regular season. A first-year student from Beaverlodge, Alberta, she was also named to the AUS second team all-star squad and the AUS all-rookie team today.
This is just the third time a player from the Memorial has earned AUS rookie of the year honours, with Sea-Hawk standouts Kiersten Fey (2015-16) and Sasha Wilkins (2005-06) coming before her.
In 2013, this award was renamed in honour of former Cape Breton Capers player Kristen Ryan. A native of Port Hastings, N.S. and a five-year member of the CBU women's volleyball team, Ryan was a two-time Atlantic conference all-star and was named the AUS libero of the year in 2009-10. She passed away in 2012 following a motor vehicle accident.
Hatfield now becomes the AUS nominee for the Mark Tennant Award as U SPORTS rookie of the year. No Atlantic conference player has ever won the national award.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Kate Fougere, Dalhousie University (Erin Bursey Memorial Award)
Dalhousie Tigers outside hitter Kate Fougere is the 2021-22 recipient of the Erin Bursey Memorial Award, given to the women's volleyball student-athlete who best exhibits outstanding achievements in three areas: volleyball, academics and community involvement.
A third-year biology and neuroscience student from Calgary, Alberta, Fougere's impressive GPA (currently 4.15) earned her both a spot on the dean's list and an Academic All-Canadian nod in her first two years with the team. On the court, she serves on the Tigers leadership group and is lauded as a mindful, intelligent player and a hard-working, committed leader.
Outside of Tigers training, Fougere currently volunteers with the Dalhousie Motionball Committee, working closely with special needs and Special Olympics groups, and serves as the president of the Dalhousie Campus Mental Health Initiative. She is also an executive member of the Dalhousie Athletics Varsity Council and a volunteer coach with the Tigers Volleyball Club.
For the last three summers, Fougere has worked in the health and wellness lab at the University of Calgary, researching cancer and exercise. Back in Halifax, she volunteers with ACCESS (Activating Cancer Communities through Exercise Strategy for Survivors), teaching exercise classes to cancer survivors.
This award was renamed in honour of former Memorial Sea-Hawks student-athlete Erin Bursey. Bursey, a two-time CIS (now U SPORTS) academic all-Canadian and a captain with the Sea-Hawks women's volleyball team who passed away in 2012 following a pedestrian-vehicle accident in St. John's, N.L.
Fougere now becomes the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Therese Quigley Award, which has been won by an AUS player seven times. The most recent recipients are Saint Mary's Hannah Stienburg (2018-19), Acadia's Sarah Ross (2015-16) and UNB's Paige Paulsen (2014-15).
COACH OF THE YEAR: Darren Russell, Saint Mary's University
In his 11th season leading the Saint Mary's Huskies women's volleyball program, Darren Russell has been chosen by his peers as the AUS coach of the year for the third time in his career. Russell was also named coach of the year for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
The Huskies finished the 2021-22 regular season at the top of the AUS standings with an 11-4 record, earning a bye to the semifinal round.
Russell's Saint Mary's squad finished the regular season second in the AUS for kills per set (11), hitting percentage (.170), digs (915) and service aces (124). They also recorded the third-most points per set (14.9), blocks per set (1.72) and total blocks (100).
Russell will now represent the AUS as the nominee for U SPORTS coach of the year. Dalhousie's Rick Scott earned the U SPORTS coach of the year award in the 2016-17 season, becoming the second AUS coach to ever win the national honour. Moncton's Monette Boudreau-Carroll was named CIS (now U SPORTS) coach of the year in 2007-08.
2021-22 AUS FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
First Team All-Stars
Taylor Collombin, Acadia (4th year, Victoria, BC)
Julie Moore, Dalhousie (4th year, Halifax, NS)
Olivia Bell, Saint Mary's (3rd year, Lahave, NS)
Megan Bruhm, Saint Mary's (2nd year, Hubley, NS)
Kristen Burns, UNB (5th year, Mississauga, ON)
Victoria Turcot, Dalhousie (4th year, Halifax, NS)
Bethany Smith, Saint Mary's (4th year, Moncton, NB)
Second Team All-Stars
Rebecca Dorsey, Acadia (2nd year, Toronto, ON)
Sydney Zakutney, Acadia (2nd year, Ottawa, ON)
Jakobie Friesen, Saint Mary's (3rd year, Barrie, ON)
Catherine Burns, UNB (3rd year, Fredericton, NB)
Melissa Hatfield, Memorial (1st year, Beaverlodge, AB)
Sarah Dawe, Dalhousie (5th year, Mount Pearl, NL)
Charlotte Dean, Acadia (2nd year, Mississauga, ON)
All-Rookie Team
Melissa Hatfield, Memorial (1st year, Beaverlodge, AB)
Emma Burns, UNB (1st year, Fredericton, NB)
Erica Fisher, Acadia (1st year, Middle Stewiacke, NS)
Brett Boldon, Dalhousie (1st year, Fredericton, NB)
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The schedule for the 2022 Subway AUS women's volleyball semifinals, presented by Bell Aliant, is as follows:
Dalhousie (3) at Acadia (2) — Saturday, March 12, 7pm
UNB (4) at Saint Mary's (1) — Saturday, March 12, 7pm
Semifinal winners will advance to the 2022 Subway AUS Women's Volleyball Championship finals. This best-of-three final series will be hosted by the highest remaining seed. All games will be webcast at www.AUStv.ca.
The AUS champion will advance to the U SPORTS women's volleyball championship, hosted by the University of Calgary March 25-27.