Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Sometimes, things are just meant to be.
Like the tale of how Jordyn Thomas was destined to become a Griffin after growing up nowhere near Edmonton.
The product of tiny Wilkie, Sask. – just south of North Battleford – finished up Grade 10 at McLurg high school, and enrolled in a HITT volleyball camp for a week in the Alberta capital, staying with her mom at the MacEwan University residence.
"We were walking through the pedway and they were practicing," she said. "So we were watching and Ken (Briggs) comes up behind me and he's like 'it's interesting because I was just talking to (Nicole) Ban to see if there were any possible recruits from this camp' – because she was a coach there – and (Nicole) tells him 'she's standing up there watching.'
"So that night, he toured me around the university for about an hour. I was like 'this is where I want to be.' "
Hard to believe, but Thomas' journey at MacEwan is nearly complete now after playing for Briggs and Ban the last five seasons. The libero will play the final home games of her career when the Griffins welcome Calgary on Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
"I was actually walking home with a teammate today, just reminiscing about my years here 'man, I'm going to miss this place,' " said Thomas, who will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology.
"It was such a nice university – so small. I keep thinking about that experience when I was recruited. I'm so grateful for it."
Jordyn Thomas has been with the Griffins since 2017 after being recruited during a HITT volleyball camp in Edmonton (Robert Antoniuk photo).
Thomas spent much of her early years with the Griffins as a late set serving/defence sub, but has taken on a full-time role as a libero with the team in 2021-22.
It's been nothing short of a revelation. Briggs notes Thomas is one of the best serve-receive liberos the program has ever had.
"Right now, she's probably the most consistent serve-receive that we've had, potentially in years," he said of Thomas, who is on the court for the opposing team's serve, splitting time at libero with Megan Foxcroft, who comes in when the Griffins are serving. "With all the young players we have – they're all figuring out passing at this level – she's been the rock. Jordyn's been very, very steady and I can't remember if we've had anybody who's averaged what she has on serve-receive."
That's not digs. Briggs is actually digging into advanced metrics when he explains what Thomas has meant to the team this season.
Although it's not a statistic that's tracked officially, when they break down film, the Griffins rate all passes from a zero to a three or four, based on the number of options you give your setter for an attack.
"If you're passing zeroes or ones, you're always out of system, you're always struggling just to have an attack of any kind, which probably won't be for a kill," said Briggs. "But if it's a two or a three, you always have options, which means the defence has to figure out what you're doing and dig a much harder ball hit at them.
"Jordyn's managed to keep above a two all year, which is very good. It makes a huge difference for us to at least give us an opportunity."
Thomas credits that to having a volleyball in her hands constantly growing up. She used to drive her mother up the wall.
"When I was little, I was always playing volleyball at home – just putting the ball against the wall and making all this noise," she said. "Mom was just like 'stop, you're going to break something.' In some cases, I ended up breaking lightbulbs. I always want to touch a ball.
"I was an outside and got put at libero, so I think I just wanted to make the most of it – work hard at practice and get better at serve-receive."
Jordyn Thomas passes a ball during action at the Saville Centre against the University of Alberta earlier this season (Robert Antoniuk photo).
Her transition has technically gone from beach volleyball (she represented Saskatchewan at the 2017 Canada Summer Games) to outside hitter to libero at MacEwan. Her hops have always been excellent, as evidenced by the bronze medal she won in high jump at the Saskatchewan high school provincials.
But Thomas is actually just grateful to even be playing volleyball at all. When she was 12, she developed a racing heart beat whenever she did athletic activity.
"It was really scary because it started happening more often and they didn't know what it was because they could never catch it on a monitor," she recalled.
Eventually, they did, tracking her heart rate at 260 beats per minute. That led to a diagnosis: supra ventricular tachycardia and she had cardia ablation surgery at the age of 14.
Finally healthy, Thomas ascended quickly in the volleyball world, getting selected for the Volleyball Canada Centre of Excellence (VCCE) program in Regina – which meant a four-hour drive each way every Saturday night for a time.
"At VCCE is where I got recruited to play with an elite club called Sask Stealth that was a mix of players from all over Saskatchewan," she said.
All of that led to her coming to MacEwan and the rest is history. Thomas has left an indelible mark on the program as she graduates with plans to pursue a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy.
"She went from a beach player to a small outside hitter to a defensive specialist who is now our most experienced player," said Briggs. "It's been a nice transition.
"She's grown with that role, just as her leadership has," he added. "It's interesting because I was talking to the girls about Senior Night and what words would you describe her with and there's a lot of respect there.
"She's a very focused person, but probably one of the most compassionate and empathetic people. It really comes across when you get to know her."
