Hallie Drezet would love to be on her way to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the U.S. HP Championships. But, as an alternate member of the Canadian junior national women's volleyball team, she'll likely be one of four players heading home while the rest of the squad jets off to Florida.
Drezet, a 17-year-old libero, could still land on the 12-player active roster as an injury replacement. It's a difficult situation for her, because while she wants a spot on the actual team, she doesn't want to see someone else get hurt in advance of the international tournament.
"It's in the back of my mind," Drezet said on Tuesday from Winnipeg, where she's training with the Team Canada regulars and alternates.
"(The trip to Fort Lauderdale) is what I wanted."
Drezet is one of only three B.C.-based players who made the cut for the women's junior national program. The others are Kiera Van Ryk (roster player) and Gabrielle Attieh (alternate), both of whom are from Surrey.
Drezet, a fresh graduate of Duchess Park secondary school, expects to return to Prince George early next week. As for the U.S. HP Championships, they will start on Tuesday.
For Drezet, the training camp in Winnipeg has still been beneficial. She's a former setter, and the Team Canada sessions have allowed her to learn more about being a libero, or defensive specialist.
"I've never really played it before, at a level this high, so I'm getting into it, which is kind of nice before I go away in August," she said.
In August, Drezet will begin her post-secondary volleyball career at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. Jumping from the high school level into Canadian Interuniversity Sport is often a difficult transition for an athlete to make but Drezet's time with Team Canada players and coaches has her feeling comfortable about joining the TRU WolfPack.
"I think the junior nationals have really helped," she said. "I'm pretty confident going into (university volleyball) but I think it will take me maybe a month or two just to kind of get into the swing of it. Like, 'OK, you're not in high school anymore.'"
Drezet will be working as hard as she can to earn playing time. So too will Courtenay product Carly Gunter, who will be a second-year libero for the WolfPack. Ultimately, head coach Chad Grimm will make the decisions about who sees game action.
"I'll have to prove myself and see what (Grimm) wants to do," Drezet said. "Whoever is the best player before game day will probably play."
The 2016-17 season will be Grimm's third as TRU head coach. Last year, he guided the WolfPack to a 12-12 record, good enough for the team's second-ever berth in the Canada West playoffs. Drezet sees more good things on the horizon.
"I think we have some really good recruits coming in and we should have a good year," she said.
Once Drezet completes her junior national team commitments, the toughest thing will be waiting for the rest of the summer to pass by. That's how anxious she is to get started at TRU.
"I'm excited - it's coming so slow," she said with a chuckle. "It's like a month away and I just can't wait."
In the classroom, Drezet will be pursuing a degree in criminology. She has her eye on a career as a homicide investigator.
"When I first started thinking about what I wanted to take, I wanted to take teaching," she said. "But whenever there's something going on, I always want to know what it is - like if there's an accident or a takedown, I'm like, 'I want to know.' So I'd rather be knowing what it is and solving it, rather than just being on the outside."
Drezet has been a longtime player in the Prince George Youth Volleyball Club and suited up for the 18-and-under Kodiaks this season. Four other members of the Kodiaks - Anika Kolybaba, Jaymie Kwiatkowski, Megan Warner and Carly Davies - have also secured roster spots in post-secondary programs for 2016-17. Kolybaba will play for North Vancouver's Capilano University, Kwiatkowski will move on to Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, Warner will play for Grande Prairie Regional College and Davies will dress at the CIS level with Mount Royal University of Calgary.
