Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – After a strong second half of the season that saw her break the program record for the most blocks by a Griffins rookie in a U SPORTS women's volleyball season, Anika Buys was named to the Canada West All-Rookie team on Wednesday.
The Niverville, Man. product is just the second player in Griffins women's volleyball program history to make a Canada West All-Rookie team after Mckenna Stevenson also earned the honour in 2015-16.
"We're very proud and we're looking forward to seeing what the future lies for her," said Griffins head coach Chris Wandler.
"Obviously, in her first year to make a Canada West All-Rookie team is very fantastic. She's very much keen to the position and has lots of upside to her game."
Buys recorded 54 total blocks in 2024-25, cruising past the program rookie mark of 35, originally set by Stevenson in 2015-16.
Buys also set a new standard for the best hitting percentage by a Griffins rookie in a Canada West season (minimum 40 kills) at .208, topping the old mark of .187, set by Carly Weber in 2016-17.
NEW RECORD
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) February 2, 2025
Anika Buys records her 36th block of 2024-25 on this play, breaking the program mark for the most by a @MacEwanGriffins rookie in a @CanadaWest season, previously set by Mckenna Stevenson in 2015-16.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/ziO1u5SpLU
"It's all about opportunity for Anika," said Wandler. "With the injuries that we had during the course of the season, Anika was propelled into a situation where she had to learn really quickly, and the first semester was a lot of that.
"In the second semester, she really started to understand the demands of the position at the Canada West level and took it step by step."
The 6-foot-2 middle blocker also tied Stevenson's program record for the most blocks by a rookie in a Canada West match when she had eight against one of the best teams in the country on Feb. 7 when the Griffins visited Manitoba.
This block in the fourth set gave Anika Buys eight of them on Friday at @umbisons, which tied the program record for the most by a @GriffinsWVB rookie in a @CanadaWest match, originally set by Mckenna Stevenson in 2016!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/1kW8Jh7vC4
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) February 8, 2025
The playing time she got in 2024-25 will pay off in the future for the Griffins.
"It's going to help her tremendously," said Wandler. "It's going to help her confidence, it's going help her off-season, getting into the weight room – getting a little stronger and little bit more explosive with her arm swing. I think it's just going to be a motivator for her to want more."
Buys was one of seven players across Canada West named to the All-Rookie team, joining Saskatchewan's Gabi Flaman and Ella Milne, UBC's Leonora Barbulovich-Nad, Calgary's Sophia Hansen, UBC Okanagan's Olivia Boulding and Trinity Western's Tayana Dmitruk.
