Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – The summer schedule is packed with high-level training and elite competition for two members of the MacEwan Griffins women's volleyball team.

Following Team Alberta's selection camp last month, Griffins setter Payton Shimoda cracked the lineup for the squad which will compete in the 2022 Canada Summer Games Aug. 6-21 in Niagara.

And incoming MacEwan libero Bronwyn Ettinger was named as an alternate for the team.

"I'm very, very excited," said Shimoda, who is coming off a massive season as a rookie in Canada West, leading the Griffins with 307 assists. "It's been a really long tryout period. Because of COVID it got pushed back, so it's been a long two years of tryouts. So, I'm very excited for this opportunity. I really love the team."

Normally, the squad is comprised of the best U18 players in the province, but because the Canada Summer Games were pushed back a year due to the pandemic, the 2022 team is a mix of the best of the U19 and U18 age groups.

Ettinger, who falls into the latter, is excited to see her name on the squad, especially since she's younger than many of the team's players.

"It's an age group up, so I'm pretty happy where I am," she said. "It was a longshot, anyway, so I'm pretty happy as an alternate because I still get to train with them."

She will travel to Niagara if there's an injury, but the training – held on weekends throughout the summer, alternating between Edmonton and Calgary – will be invaluable in her preparations for the upcoming Canada West campaign.

"I'm really excited and I think it's a really good opportunity," said Ettinger, who is finishing up high school at Strathcona. "The level of play is a little bit faster than I'm used to, so it will be good training before the MacEwan season starts."

Incoming Griffins libero Bronwyn Ettinger has been named as an alternate for Team Alberta.

Shimoda is also looking forward to that aspect and the opportunity to build a strong setter-libero relationship with Ettinger before the Griffins' season begins.

"I'm just really excited to play with Bronwyn," she said. "I think it's really exciting that we get a chance as setter-libero to practice together before our season even starts. She's amazing."

Prior to heading to the Canada Summer Games, Team Alberta is also slated to compete in the Canada Cup in Calgary July 20-24 – a good litmus test for where they're at.

"Honestly, I don't know how we'll match up to the other provinces," said Shimoda. "It's been so long since we've competed.

"When we were in U16, we won gold in Canada Cup, so Alberta's really strong," she added. "We do have a lot of underage athletes. I would say half the team is U18 level. The talent pool for the younger girls is just ridiculous, so we could do pretty well, but then again I have no clue how we match up."