SPARTANS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SIGN FOUR-Coach Hofer announces 2009-2010 recruiting class

Women's Volleyball (Announcement)
Tuesday, May 19, 09
Recruit Signing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SIGN FOUR
-Coach Hofer announces 2009-2010 recruiting class

LANGLEY, British Columbia - Trinity Western University women's volleyball coach Ryan Hofer is pleased to announce the signing of Chelsea Wand (Langley, B.C.), Jordan Rupps (Saskatoon), Chelsea Fitchette (Langley, B.C.) and Lyndsay Dykman (Langley, B.C.) to the join the Spartans for the 2009-2010 season.

"We are excited to have these four athletes join TWU Women's Volleyball. Each of them has a great love for the game and will bring depth to their respective positions. I look forward to having them on the court next fall and know that they each will make an impact on and off the floor," commented Hofer on his 2009 recruiting class.

Chelsea Wand, who resides in Langley, B.C., has been a four year honours student while attending Brookswood Secondary School. The three year Team BC member has helped lead her Brookswood team to three straight BC Provincial Championship berths. The 6' outside hitter has also had excellent success at the club level. Her Fraser Valley Volleyball Club teams has had excellent success at the club level winning three provincial championships and finishing in the top five in the last four National Championships.

"We are thrilled to have Chelsea join our program. I am continually impressed with the control and stability that Chelsea brings to the floor. She is consistent in all areas of the game, especially her passing, attacking and serving. Chelsea has a variety of highly effective shots and plays equally on the right or left side of the court. She has all the tools that make her a great CIS outside hitter. We look forward to the depth that Chelsea is going to bring to our outside hitting position," said Hofer.

Not only has Wand achieved team success, she has also been recognized for her individual efforts. In 2006-07 she was named a first team all star at club provincials, in 2007-08 she was MVP at Fraser Valley's and a first team all star at high school Provincials, in 2008-09 she was named an all-star at the high school Fraser Valley's and from 2004 to 2008 she has been named Outstanding Female Athlete at Brookswood Secondary. Wand was also just named this year's Club U18 Provincial MVP as she led her team to the provincial title, and a fourth place finish at Nationals

"My passion in life has been volleyball, and when I visited TWU and saw that it was a great University, with excellent coaching, and an outstanding team I knew that it was a perfect fit for me," commented Wand, who looks to study science at TWU.

Jordan Rupps is a native of Saskatoon, Sask. where she attended Bedford Road Collegiate. The 6'1" middle has been a member of the Saskatchewan Provincial team for three years and was a member of the Canada Prospects Team in 2007. The four years honours student, who will study education at TWU, helped lead her Huskies United club team to a silver medal at the 2008 Nationals.

"We are extremely pleased that Jordan has chosen Trinity Western as the place to continue her education and volleyball career. Jordan brings to us a presence at the net with her block and attack. Jordan knows how to take up space at the net and hits a heavy ball. She has a great court personality that is highly competitive and knows how to make her teammates play better around her," commented Hofer.

Rupp has also been recognized for her individual efforts, in 2007 she was named her high school Rookie of the Year and in 2008 she was named her team's Offensive MVP. "After visiting TWU I felt like it was the place I wanted to be, the team was welcoming and the school had a great atmosphere. I'm excited for the future seasons as a Spartan; making new friends and memories I'll never forget," commented Rupp on her future with TWU.

Chelsea Fitchette is a 5'8" Libero from Walnut Grove Secondary in Langley, B.C. While at Walnut Grove she helped the Gators to a fifth place finish at the 2007 BC High School AAAA Volleyball Championships, as well as earning a number of academic and athletic awards including: "B" honour roll, effort honour roll, outstanding contribution award, small block award and a number of player of the game awards.

"I look forward to the tenacity and determination that Chelsea is going to bring to our culture. She is a player who has had to work through a large amount of adversity in the past two years and has never given up through it. This process has developed Chelsea into one of the best libero's in the country for her age class and I am excited to see the impact and leadership she is going to bring to our backcourt," commented Hofer.

Fitchette, who plans to study Psychology, has also played for Team BC and is a member of the Fraser Valley Volleyball Club - Blitz who have won two gold medals at the Club Provincials while earning a third and fourth place finish at Club Nationals. The well rounded student has also travelled to Columbia on a mission's tour, played lead trumpet in the school band and traveled through France as a French Immersion student.

"Trinity has an amazing community and the group of people who are a part of the women's volleyball program are all so welcoming! I love that it is close to home, it's a shorter drive to school and my parents can come watch all my games," commented Fitchette on her choice to attend TWU.

Lyndsay Dykman is a 6'2" middle who hails from Terrace, B.C. and is currently playing for and attending Langley Christian in Langley, B.C. In addition to playing for LCS, who she helped lead to a second place finish at the BC High School "A" Provincial Championships, Dykman also plays with the Fraser Valley Volleyball Club.

"Each time I watch Lyndsay play I am impressed with her athletic ability. This kid can jump! She may be young to this game but I believe she is going to be turning heads in very near future. Lyndsay is passionate about improving and getting better at this game. I am excited to see the impact that she is going to make on our program and the CIS," commented Hofer.

Dykman, who has only been playing competitive volleyball for just over a year, commented on her attending TWU. "Trinity Western and I share a fundamental common ground of faith. Rather than just being educated on governmentally chosen subjects, I'd like to learn on a spiritual level and learn how to continue my walk of faith without the persistent eye of my mother. I would also love to accompany [Ismay Schon, Kara Jansen Van Doorn and Dayna Jansen Van Doorn, who attended LCS] with a CIS level volleyball career. In the past year volleyball has granted me a healthy escape, a dose of amazing friendships, and lessons of life learned in the form of a sport."

Trinity Western University, located in Langley, B.C., is a not-for-profit Christian liberal arts university enrolling over 4,000 students this year. With a broad based, liberal arts and sciences curriculum, the University offers undergraduate degrees in 42 major areas of study ranging from business, education and computer science to biology and nursing, and 16 other graduate degrees including counselling psychology, theology and administrative leadership. For more information, visit TWU's Official Athletics site at gospartans.ca.

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. The CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, and 32 World University Championships. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.

-TW-

Last Updated: 2009-05-19
Author: Scott Stewart