SPORTS FLASHBACK 1991: Sawatzky named top volleyball player in Canada

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This article was published 03/08/2024 (608 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Twenty-year-old Michelle Sawatzky of Steinbach has been named the Player-of-the-Year in Canadian Inter-university Athletic Union volleyball. In other words, she has been voted the best female university volleyball player in the country. It is, without doubt, one of the most significant accomplishments by a Steinbach athlete.

Saturday night in Calgary, in front of a live national television audience, the 5’6” setter guided the University of Manitoba Bisons to their second national championship, defeating the University of Saskatchewan Huskies three games to two in the final, winning by scores of 15-13, 15-12, and, 15-5, while losing the third game of the match by a 15-11 score.

Sawatzky guides the offence of the national champion Bisons, quarterbacks the team, controls the game, and dictates what kind of game the team will play from the setter position. And she does this better than anyone else in the country.

It has been a Cinderella season for Sawatzky, as has been her entire, but relatively short, career. At the CIAU national championships on the weekend, she was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for the second year in a row.

She appears to be taking it all in stride, but is still excited about the player of the year award, and of course, the second consecutive national championship for the Bisons.

It meant a lot to Sawatzky that her parents, John and Adina Sawatzky, drove to Calgary on the weekend, and arrived just in time to see the final against Saskatchewan. Michelle says she was “very surprised and very happy” that her parents could see her team win the national championship in person.

Sawatzky received the player of the year award at the awards banquet in Calgary on Wednesday night, prior to the championships.

“Although I expected one of the Bisons would win the award, I was surprised it was me, because usually a fourth or fifth year player wins the award.”

Sawatzky says winning the individual award is very satisfying because of the long hours of training her teammates and she put in, and she credits her teammates for much of her success.

Bisons coach Ken Bentley was very happy to see Michelle win the award.

“Outside the team, very few people realize how much time she puts in. The Bisons have been ranked Number One in the country all year long, and that doesn’t happen without consistency from the team’s setter.”

Needless to say, Bentley is pleased that Sawatzky has two years of university eligibility left, and with the team only losing two veterans this year, the Bisons can count on being a contender for the next two years.

But the year is far from being over as far as volleyball is concerned. In May, Sawatzky heads to Regina to try out for Canada’s World Student Games team, which in effect is Canada’s National ‘B’ team.

Sawatzky made the team last summer, and played in a tournament in San Diego with the team. It is safe to say Sawatzky will be the setter for the national team that will represent the country at the World Student Games in Sheffield, England in July.

Returning from Calgary last week, Sawatzky told Carillon sports editor Terry Frey that her dream is to play for Canada in the 1996 Olympic Games, after her university career is over.

But even though she is the best female volleyball player in Canada, Sawatzky realizes that at five-foot, six-inches tall, she may be too short for international calibre volleyball. Her university coach agrees Sawatzky’s height may be a detriment, but notes that short setters have been successful on the international stage before.

Michelle Sawatzky did indeed realize her dream of playing for Canada in the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia. She guided the Canadian women to a ninth place finish and in the final game of the tournament, led the team in a 3-2 win over Peru, the first Olympic win for the Canadian women’s volleyball program.