Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Potential has become the present for Andi Krawec of the Griffins women's volleyball team.
After redshirting during the 2021-22 season as she trained and focused on academics in a bid to get into MacEwan's Nursing program, the promising Edmonton Pandas and Strathcona high school product is taking strides every weekend towards becoming an impact Canada West player.
Krawec has played 24 sets in seven matches so far this season – tied for the fifth most on the Griffins – as she learns on the fly in essentially her rookie university campaign.
"Andi comes with great athleticism," said MacEwan interim head coach Dusty Freimark. "Her ceiling has not yet been discovered, so giving her opportunities now to work on her confidence and to work on the tactical and the technical part of the game, I'm just super excited to see where she can go down the road."
The outside hitter will lead the Griffins into their final weekend of the first semester as they host Trinity Western on Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (5:30 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
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Krawec has been playing the right side as a complement to Griffins' veteran kills leader Mariah Bereziuk on the left. So far, the Edmontonian has 31 kills and 69 digs.
"This year has definitely been an adjustment – lots of growth and learning," she said. "I'm really grateful for all the opportunities that I've had to play. It's been really fun and exciting.
"My last year of club was COVID, and we didn't play games. Redshirting, we didn't play games. So, it's fun to be able to play and experience the action."
As a multi-sport student-athlete at Strathcona, Krawec had a full season of volleyball and track and field in Grade 10. Then, the pandemic shuttered the rest of her high school athletics career.
It essentially halted her ambitions in high jump, a sport in which she captured the provincial high school title.
"In Grade 10, I won provincials for high jump in the junior league," said Krawec of a personal best 1.60 metres that year. "Grade 11 was COVID, and track never happened. Grade 12, track never happened, so it was kind of sad not to get to have that season."
Not just to have a shot at provincials, as Krawec was also planning to take aim at the school record held by former Alberta Pandas' women's volleyball star player Kory White – the reigning U SPORTS player of the year.
"Kory White went to Scona, and she set a standard for high jump and I really wanted to beat it in Grade 11," said Krawec of White's 1.70m jump in Grade 12 that also set a provincial record. "I was determined to beat it in Grade 11 and Grade 12, but I didn't get the chance."
Andi Krawec goes up for a kill attempt against Calgary in a match last month (Eduardo Perez photo).
Her ambitions in that sport on hold, Krawec invested fully in her other pursuit – a natural one for a high jumper to transition to – volleyball. Competitions were also paused during the pandemic for volleyball, but there were training opportunities with the Edmonton Pandas club team, where she played with future Griffins teammates Payton Shimoda, Emma Brooks and Arden Butler.
Now they're all able to build together on a young team with many players in their first or second years of eligibility.
"Lots of growth," said Krawec of the season so far. "The trust is really building and the connection. This past weekend, that's what I felt – the connection and the celebration felt really awesome. Everyone was always in it and the commitment is there. Everyone's committed to showing up and that's been awesome."
The Griffins (2-8) are coming off the program's first weekend sweep since Feb. 1, 2020, when they beat the Brandon Bobcats on back-to-back nights Nov. 25-26. The competition gets tougher this weekend as the Spartans (10-0) visit MacEwan as the No. 1-ranked team in U SPORTS.
"Those couple of wins have injected a little bit of confidence, a little bit of energy and (given us a glimpse into) what we are capable of accomplishing this year," said Freimark. "Trinity Western is a dynasty. They've earned their wins, they've earned the culture of the team, they're No. 1 in the country.
"So, for us, we're genuinely excited to play them. You need to play the best to know where you do stack up, where we can find some successes, what the girls can learn about themselves, what the girls can learn about their capabilities – see what we can take away.
"The girls are ready. We respect our opponent; we don't fear our opponent."
