She's been receiving offers to play for varsity teams for years and now that Terrace’s Carly Davies is graduating high school, she’s ready to launch into a university volleyball contract with a full scholarship.
The Caledonia Secondary student is one of the top 15 female Grade 12 volleyball players in B.C., according to a recent article by The Province.
This September, Davies will be heading to Calgary to play for the Mount Royal Cougars women’s volleyball team.
“I’ll definitely miss the underdog factor of the northwest,” she said. “I loved going to tournaments to prove that the north does produce very capable athletes who are looking to compete. I think we have more drive because we want to prove ourselves to larger clubs.”
Rankings by The Province put Davies, a middle player, tied for 12th in the province alongside Sophie Stone, a setter from Surrey-Pacific Academy.
Head coach of the Mount Royal volleyball team, Sandra Lamb, says that Davies has been on the team’s radar for a number of years now and her learning curve has really taken off.
“She’s going to be an impact on the team right away, she’s one of the best read-blockers we’ve seen in a while,” noted Lamb.
In the past year, Davies has played for both the Caledonia Kermodes and the Prince George youth volleyball club on the Kodiacs under-18 team. Her coaches this season extend rave reviews about her qualities as a young player.
“Carly is a naturally talented athlete and an exceptionally hard working athlete – she is also coachable, humble and encouraging to her teammates,” said Caledonia coach Carmen Didier.
Having overseen the local team for years, Didier says coaches from universities showed interest in Davies at her first national tournament in Grade 10.
“She was first recognized for her quick feet and ability to read block. Since such time she has developed so much more into an all-around player,” Didier said.
“She has become a consistent passer and has a wicked serve that may be a little unorthodox, but scores points.”
Following that first tournament, Davies received an offer of a five-year contract and a full scholarship to Mount Royal University. Though she also received many other offers from schools across the country, Davies decided on Mount Royal last December.
She will be joining another former player for Caledonia, Cassidy Kitchen, who landed a spot on the team last year.
“I’m definitely looking forward to competing at a higher level, as well as playing with my club and school teammate Cassidy,” Davies said.
In early May, Davies took the Prince George Kodiacs to a second place finish in the first tier of their division at nationals.
“She was a great asset to our team. She played left side and was a dominant force,” said her P.G. coach Kim Forrest.
“She did not practice in between [our] tournaments, but when she came it was like she had been practicing the whole time,” she explained.
The team went undefeated until the championship game. The tournament marked the last game of Davies’ high school volleyball career.
“I had an awesome time playing with P.G., and not just the volleyball but also getting to know the team. We had a very successful season,” she reflected.
The prolific athlete has also had much success at basketball and soccer in the northwest.
After her last game at the high school basketball provincials this spring, Davies had to rush to a nearby volleyball tournament with the Kodiacs, arriving just at game time, her coach said.
Davies is now moving on to university where she will study sciences while playing for the team.
“I love the competition and feel honoured to have the opportunity to fulfill my athletic goals at MRU,” she remarked.