TWO GOLD medals at national-level volleyball is just the start for rising star Carly Davies who will now take on other provincial teams at the western championships this week.
For the second time, Davies was selected for Team BC which went on to win gold at the National Team Challenge Cup held in Richmond in July and also took home the top prize at last year’s Western Elites Championship.
“I was very surprised and excited when I made the team and I was happy to have the chance to play at the national level again,” said the seventeen-year-old Caledonia Secondary student.
“It also felt grateful that the time and work my coaches and I had put in had been worth it.”
Davies’ love for sports first got her noticed when she started playing with the senior girls volleyball team in school and for the regional northwest team alongside many of the girls who are now moving on to play at university.
After making it through regionals, Davies took her first try at the provincial level last year when she attended a tryout camp in Kamloops for the U17 team. Davies made the team which then went on to dominate the western competition.
This year she tried out against forty other girls for the U18 BC team and became one of the 14 that were selected to represent the province at this year’s national competitions.
“I decided to try out again this year to experience the high level of play and reconnect with some of the friends I was able to meet last year,” Davies said about her choice to do it all again.
The girls trained in Whistler in July before they competed against teams from every province in the country at the cup held in Richmond July 15-19.
Davies explained that the competition was gruelling with each match that lasted upwards of two hours ending in an “extremely close score.” But again, the B.C. team came out ahead and took home another gold medal.
“The semi final was when our team was really obligated to come together and focus,” she said of the tournament. “We were versing Alberta, which has always been a tough competitor, but we were able to beat them in five sets.”
“And then our team won gold after beating Ontario in three-straight in a best-of-five match.”
Now, Davies will fly out to Surrey to train with the team again in the lead up to the BC Summer Games in Fort McMurray August 7–16.
A true sports fan, Davies said that she is most excited to get to cheer on B.C. at all the events.
“I am really looking forward to the competition because it is a multi sport event, which will give us the opportunity to cheer on other B.C. sports and show some provincial spirit,” she said.
After the games Davies will be back with the Caledonia volleyball team in September to play another year with them and hopefully get a scholarship to play volleyball in post-secondary.
“I don’t have any set plans for the future but I think volleyball will be in it,” she said.
Her coach says that she has offers to play for teams here and in the U.S.