Norah Matthews, left, a Grade 11 student at HRHS, will be competing in the BioSteel All Canadian Girls Volleyball Games in Toronto in early June. Her sister, Emerson, who’s in Grade 10, will also be competing in the Games. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Norah and Emerson Matthews are about to go where no Holy Rosary High School Raider has gone before, the BioSteel All-Canadian Girls Volleyball Games.
Set for June 3-4 in Toronto, Ont., the inaugural Games will feature the top U16 and U17 female volleyball players from across Canada at the University of Toronto’s Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sports.
The two-day event will be hosted by Canadian actor and comedian Gerry Dee and see the top 24 players in their respective age groups compete against each other.
Norah is a Grade 11 student at HRHS and will be competing with the U17s, and her sister, Emerson, a Grade 10 student at HRHS, will be competing with the U16s.
The Matthews sisters met with media last week to talk about this exciting experience.
“I’m really excited to meet new people and see which coaches I get,” said Norah.
“I like to play with people who want to win as much as I do, and I think they invited a lot of competitive players.”
During the school year, Norah, who’s a middle, plays for the senior team at HRHS and for club, she plays in Saskatoon with Husky Volley Club.
“I love volleyball a lot. It’s probably been my favourite sport since Grade 8 when I started playing at HRHS, and I don’t think I’d ever get tired of it,” she said.
“We play all year round, from school to club, to beach, and provincials as well. We never get a break but I love it.”
Emerson shares her sister’s love of volleyball and can’t wait to get to Toronto.
“It’s amazing I got picked for this and I really want to see where I rank in Canada with all of these other girls,” said Emerson.
“I’m hoping to learn, whatever I can really, with all of these awesome coaches.”
As an outside hitter, Emerson also started playing volleyball at a young age and truly loves the sport.
“I think it’s going to be really fun to see who I’m playing against and who I’m playing with. They’ll mostly be the same skill set as me, so it’ll be super fun.”
For host Gerry Dee, the level of excitement is mutual.
“I am thrilled to host this event with the support of BioSteel, Mizuno and Volleyball Canada,” he said in a statement.
“Having three kids playing volleyball has exposed me even more to this great game over the past eight years. This is a day to recognize the best young female players in Canada and showcase their talents on a National level.
“It’s another opportunity to grow girls volleyball across the country. I’m also delighted that we have Lauri Holomis, Teresa Resch and Luana Harris as advisors for this event. These three women have all excelled in their respective fields and are great role models for these young women as they continue their education and their future after volleyball.”
