Jade Bussard, a 6-foot left-side hitter from Red Deer, will be adding her talents to the for the 2018-19 season.
Bussard, a multi-sport athlete out of 脡cole Secondaire Notre Dame High School, began focusing on volleyball exclusively during her Grade 11 year.
That season as purely a volleyball player, she earned the MVP award and was a captain last season for her provincial third ranked team.
Jade鈥檚 accolades with her club team, the Central Alberta Queens Volleyball Club, include a captaincy of the 2018 team, and a provincial all-star award along with a provincial bronze medal in 2017.
鈥淯BC is ranked as one of the best universities in North America,鈥� said Bussard, explaining why she chose UBCO.
鈥淚 like that it鈥檚 a smaller campus but still a great reputation for academics and sport. They have a great volleyball program and are consistently ranked as one of the highest teams in the Canada West League鈥 really enjoyed meeting the coach and the team when I visited in the summer 鈥� I could picture myself at UBCO early on in my recruiting process.鈥�
鈥淲e are excited to welcome Jade to our program,鈥� said Heat coach Steve Manuel. 鈥淪he is a high flying outside hitter with the athletic ability to be an impact player at the level.
鈥淛ade鈥檚 determination and drive to succeed will serve her well at UBC Okanagan, we expect great things from her as she joins a group of outstanding young recruits in 2018.鈥�
On her next steps academically, Jade plans to study Human Kinetics for her first degree, then possibly study for a Masters in Physical Therapy or a second degree in Physical Education.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 honoured to be a part of such a great program,鈥� said Brussard in a statement, 鈥淚鈥檓 super excited to start the next step in my volleyball career with the UBC Okanagan Heat. I feel I鈥檒l be able to make a big impact over the next several years with my positive attitude and compete level.鈥�
Jade will join Samantha Gagnon as first-year players from Red Deer on next year鈥檚 women鈥檚 volleyball team. Stephanie Temme and Sarah Demers from the Junior Heat program and Sydney Grills from the Thunder Volleyball Club in Vancouver will all join the Heat roster this September as three key pieces.
, will be leaving the roster due to graduation.
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